Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2025 Aug 13;15(1):29700.
doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-15667-5.

The impact of different types of brain injuries on cerebral perfusion in preterm infants: an arterial spin labeling : MRI study

Chen Zhang  1 , Wenli Li  1   2 , Huiying Fan  1 , Ming Niu  1 , Hao Song  1 , Huifang Dong  1   2 , Qing Yan  1 , Falin Xu  3   4
Affiliations

The impact of different types of brain injuries on cerebral perfusion in preterm infants: an arterial spin labeling : MRI study

Chen Zhang et al. Sci Rep. .

Abstract

Cerebral blood flow (CBF) is crucial for supplying the brain with the oxygen and nutrients necessary for its proper development and metabolism. The poor autoregulation of CBF is believed to play a role in the development of brain injury in preterm infants. This study aimed to investigate the characteristics of CBF in perinatal brain injury. In this retrospective study, 108 healthy preterm infants (HP), 26 infants with intracranial hemorrhage (IVH), and 16 infants with periventricular leukomalacia (PVL) were included. CBF was assessed using arterial spin labeling imaging in the frontal, temporal, parietal, and occipital cortex, as well as the basal ganglia and thalamus. After adjusting for gestational age, postmenstrual age (PMA) at MRI scan, and birth weight, the PVL hemispheres exhibited consistently reduced CBF in various gray matter regions compared to the HP and IVH hemispheres, including the frontal, temporal, parietal, and occipital cortex, as well as the basal ganglia and thalamus. The comparison of HP and IVH hemispheres revealed decreased CBF in IVH hemispheres in the frontal, parietal, occipital cortex, as well as in the basal ganglia and thalamus. In multifactor linear regression models, the PMA at MRI scan, 5 min Apgar score, brain injury, and neonatal necrotizing stage ≥ 2 are independent factors affecting cerebral perfusion.

Keywords: Arterial spin labeling imaging; Brain injury; Cerebral blood flow; Cerebral cortex; Preterm infant.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests. Ethics approval: This study was approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of the Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University (2022-126-01). The legal guardians of all participants signed informed consent.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Study schematic. The flow chart showing the number of infants who were screened for analysis.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Comparison of Cerebral Blood Flow in Three Groups of Premature Infants.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Axial T1 T2 and 3D-pCASL Magnetic Resonance Images.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Volpe, J. J. Brain injury in premature infants: a complex amalgam of destructive and developmental disturbances. Lancet Neurol.8, 110–124 (2009). - PMC - PubMed
    1. Pascal, A. et al. The impact of intraventricular hemorrhage and periventricular leukomalacia on mortality and neurodevelopmental outcome in very preterm and very low birthweight infants: A prospective Population-based cohort study. J. Pediatr.262, 113600 (2023). - PubMed
    1. Matthews, L. G. et al. Brain growth in the NICU – Critical periods of Tissue-Specific expansion. Pediatr. Res.83, 976–981 (2018). - PMC - PubMed
    1. Kamei, A., Houdou, S., Mito, T., Konomi, H. & Takashima, S. Developmental change in type VI collagen in human cerebral vessels. Pediatr. Neurol.8, 183–186 (1992). - PubMed
    1. Ballabh, P. & De Vries, L. S. White matter injury in infants with intraventricular haemorrhage: mechanisms and therapies. Nat. Rev. Neurol.17, 199–214 (2021). - PMC - PubMed