J Korean Soc Neonatol.  2007 Nov;14(2):263-269.

White Matter Damage in Neonates in the Course of Viral Illness

Affiliations
  • 1Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, Yeung-Nam University, Daegu, Korea. les2055@ynu.ac.kr

Abstract

Studies of brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of neonatal white matter damage are few, and descriptions of this type of brain damage are limited. During the past three years, we have encountered three full-term infants with selective white matter damage over the course of their viral illness. All three neonates presented with seizures a few days after showing symptoms of a viral illness. The results of bacterial cultures of the blood, CSF, and stool were negative. Newborn screening tests for organic aciduria, amino acid metabolism disorders, and fatty acid oxidation defects were also negative. In two infants, an electroencephalogram (EEG) showed slow basic activity, which is a typical finding in patients with encephalitis/encephalopathy. The Diffusion-weighted MRI (DWI) showed abnormally high signal intensity localized to the white matter of the corpus callosum, thalamus, internal capsule, or hippocampus. The findings of DWI suggested that the neonates' lesions had occurred recently. All patients recovered completely.

Keyword

Brain magnetic resonance imaging; Neonate; Viral meningoencephalitis/ encephalopathy; White matter damage

MeSH Terms

Brain
Corpus Callosum
Electroencephalography
Hippocampus
Humans
Infant
Infant, Newborn*
Internal Capsule
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Mass Screening
Metabolism
Seizures
Thalamus
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