Can brain chemical scans predict how preemies will develop?
Can magnetic resonance spectroscopy predict neurodevelopmental outcome in very low birth weight preterm infants?
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
NAA/Ch increased with age (a good sign), but didn’t distinguish between babies who later developed normally vs. those with delays.
In term infants with birth asphyxia, low NAA is a known predictor of poor outcomes—so researchers expected the same pattern in preemies. Instead, even when brains were maturing, it didn’t help predict future disability.
Practical Takeaways
Don’t rely on MRS scans alone to predict your preemie’s future development—use them as one piece of a broader assessment including clinical observation and follow-up testing.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
NAA/Ch increased with age (a good sign), but didn’t distinguish between babies who later developed normally vs. those with delays.
In term infants with birth asphyxia, low NAA is a known predictor of poor outcomes—so researchers expected the same pattern in preemies. Instead, even when brains were maturing, it didn’t help predict future disability.
Practical Takeaways
Don’t rely on MRS scans alone to predict your preemie’s future development—use them as one piece of a broader assessment including clinical observation and follow-up testing.
Publication
Journal
Journal of Perinatology
Year
2008
Authors
E M Augustine, D. Spielman, P. Barnes, T L Sutcliffe, J. Dermon, M. Mirmiran, D. B. Clayton, R. Ariagno
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Claims (4)
For babies born very early and very small, doctors use two different brain scans to check for injury—but these scans don’t seem to agree with each other when it comes to spotting brain damage.
When tiny premature babies grow a little older in the womb and after birth, their brains show signs of getting more developed—like neurons getting better connected and insulated—as seen by a special brain scan measure.
Doctors looked at brain chemical levels in tiny premature babies and found no link between those levels and how well the babies developed mentally or physically by the time they were 18 to 24 months old.
In very small premature babies, the brain chemical ratio measured in certain areas doesn’t tell us whether they’ll develop normally or have problems later, even though this ratio naturally goes up as the baby gets older.