Preterm children have disturbances of white matter at 11 years of age as shown by diffusion tensor imaging. Pediatr Res

Preterm birth frequently involves white matter injury and affects long-term neurologic and cognitive outcomes. Diffusion tensor imaging has been used to show that the white matter microstructure of newborn, preterm children is compromised in a regionally specific manner. However, until now it was not clear whether these lesions would persist and be detectible on long-term follow-up. Hence, we collected diffusion tensor imaging data on a 1.5-T scanner, and computed fractional anisotropy and coherence measures to compare the white matter integrity of children born preterm to that of control subjects. The subjects for the preterm group (10.9 0.29 y; n 9; birth weight 1500 g; mean gestational age, 28.6 1.05 wk) possessed attention deficits, a common problem in preterms. They were compared with age- and sex-matched control children (10.8 0.33 y; n 10; birth weight 2500; gestational age, 37 wk). We foun