Ultrasound measurement of the corpus callosum and neural development of premature infants*

Fang Liu; Shikao Cao; Jiaoran Liu; Zhifang Du; Zhimei Guo; Changjun Ren

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1673-5374.2013.26.004

摘要：Length and thickness of 152 corpus cal osa were measured in neonates within 24 hours of birth. Using ultrasonic diagnostic equipment with a neonatal brain-specific probe, corpus cal osum length and thickness of the genu, body, and splenium were measured on the standard mid-sagittal plane, and the anteroposterior diameter of the genu was measured in the coronal plane. Results showed that corpus cal osum length as wel as thickness of the genu and splenium increased with gesta-tional age and birth weight, while other measures did not. These three factors on the standard mid-sagittal plane are therefore likely to be suitable for real-time evaluation of corpus cal osum de-velopment in premature infants using cranial ultrasound. Further analysis revealed that thickness of the body and splenium and the anteroposterior diameter of the genu were greater in male infants than in female infants, suggesting that there are sex differences in corpus cal osum size during the neonatal period. A second set of measurements were taken from 40 premature infants whose ges-tational age was 34 weeks or less. Corpus cal osum measurements were corrected to a gestational age of 40 weeks, and infants were grouped for analysis depending on the outcome of a neonatal behavioral neurological assessment. Compared with infants with a normal neurological assessment, corpus cal osum length and genu and splenium thicknesses were less in those with abnormalities, indicating that corpus cal osum growth in premature infants is associated with neurobehavioral de-velopment during the early extrauterine stage.