Cerebral Blood Flow Velocity in Neonates Predicts Later Developmental Outcomes

Higher left systolic cerebral blood flow velocity was associated with better cognitive outcomes at age 2 years.

Occasionally, a study links neuroscience and clinical pediatrics to improve our understanding of early brain development. In this study, investigators evaluated the relation between cerebral blood flow velocity (CBFV) and infant development in 51 low birth weight premature infants (mean birth weight, 1265 g; mean gestational age, 30 weeks) who were born from 1996 through 1999 at a single hospital in Israel.

At a mean postmenstrual age of 37 weeks (mean chronological age, 48 days), Doppler sonography was performed at an open fontanelle to measure mean CBFV in the left and right middle cerebral arteries. Neurobehavioral maturation was assessed with the Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale (NBAS). Cognitive development was evaluated at 6, 12, a…

Reviewing Author

Martin T. Stein, MD

Disclosures

Consultant / Advisory boardPearson Neuroscience Advisory Board

Speaker’s bureauAmerican Academy of Pediatrics

RoyaltiesElsevier, Inc.

Editorial boardsJournal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics

Martin T. Stein, MD

Disclosures

Consultant / Advisory boardPearson Neuroscience Advisory Board

Speaker’s bureauAmerican Academy of Pediatrics

RoyaltiesElsevier, Inc.

Editorial boardsJournal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics