Abstract #1404

Quantitative MR relaxometry reveals subcortical T1 differences in very preterm children and adolescents

Ruth L O'Gorman¹, Flavia Wehrle², Tobias C Wood³, Andreas Buchmann⁴, Beatrice Latal⁴, Reto Huber⁴, Sean Deoni⁵, Gareth J Barker³, and Cornelia Hagmann²

¹Center for MR Research, University Children's Hospital, Zurich, Switzerland, ²Neonatology, University Hospital, Zurich, Switzerland, ³Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, London, United Kingdom, ⁴Developmental Pediatrics, University Children's Hospital, Zurich, Switzerland, ⁵University of Colorado, Denver, CO, United States

Very preterm infants are at an increased risk of neurodevelopmental impairment later in life. This study investigates cerebral microstructural differences in 31 very preterm children and adolescents relative to their term-born peers, using quantitative MR relaxometry. The very preterm group showed significantly increased T1 in the caudate and thalamus and decreased T1 in insula and amygdala/hippocampus, but no significant differences in caudate, thalamus, or total brain volume. These results highlight the vulnerability of basal ganglia, thalamic and cortical structures to neonatal brain injury and underscore the role that quantitative relaxometry may play in evaluating microstructural changes associated with prematurity.

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