Retardation of Neuronal Maturation in Premature Infants Compared with Term Infants of the Same Postconceptional Age

Abstract
Neuronal morphologic development and the number of soma and spines in the visual cortex were investigated. Ten premature human infants surviving at least 3 wk were compared with control infants who had been born at term gestation and had the same postconceptional age. In 6 cases of sudden infant death syndrome, bronchopulmonary dysplasia or patent ductus arteriosus, neuronal development was similar to that in the control cases. The persistence of immature neurons in 2 of the remaining 4 cases suggested a developmental neuronal delay or arrest.

This publication has 2 references indexed in Scilit: