Abstract #0906

High-Field Diffusion Tensor Imaging Characterization of Cerebral White Matter Injury in LPS Exposed Fetal Sheep

Yohan van de Looij¹,², Gregory A. Lodygensky¹, Justin M. Dean³, Henrik Hagberg³, Carina Mallard³, Petra S. Hppi¹, Rolf Gruetter²,⁴, Stphane Sizonenko¹

¹Division of Child Growth & Development, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland; ²Laboratory for Functional and Metabolic Imaging, Ecole Polytechnique Fdrale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland; ³Perinatal Center, University of Gothenburg, Gteborg, Sweden; ⁴Department of Radiology, University of Geneva and Lausanne, Geneva and Lausanne, Switzerland

Encephalopathy of prematurity is a major cause of developmental disabilities in up to 75% infants after preterm birth. The aim of this study was to characterize the changes in the developing sheep WM following fetal LPS exposure by MRI: T1W, T2W images and DTI as well as histopathology correlation. The combination of lesions observed in LPS treated fetal sheep mimics very well the pattern of injuries seen in premature infants. We show the excellent ability of DTI to classify different types of brain lesions following LPS exposure with specific changes of DTI derived between different lesions.