Periventricular Leukomalacia — Prospects for Prevention

Abstract
Modern perinatal care, including careful fetal surveillance, antenatal administration of glucocorticoids, surfactant therapy, and ventilatory assistance, has improved survival rates for infants with very low birth weights (less than 1500 g).1 There has, however, been no improvement in the neurodevelopmental outcomes of such infants: 20 to 40 percent have handicaps, especially the smallest (those weighing less than 750 g) and least mature (those born before 25 weeks of gestation).2,3 Periventricular leukomalacia is included in the spectrum of recently designated white-matter disorders4 and is a major risk factor for cerebral palsy and other handicaps, especially in premature infants.Periventricular leukomalacia . . .

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