CEREBELLAR INFARCTION AND ATROPHY IN INFANTS AND CHILDREN WITH A HISTORY OF PREMATURE BIRTH

Background and objective. We wished to determine the pattern of cerebe llar disease in children with a history of premature birth and early u ltrasound evidence of intraventricular haemorrhage and/or parenchymal lesions of the cerebral hemispheres. Materials and methods. MRI findin gs for all premature infants examined in a 3-year period (73 patients) were reviewed to determine the nature and frequency of lesions of the cerebellum and the results were correlated with clinical data. Result s. Six cases of unilateral cerebellar infarction were identified, Thes e involved the posterior inferior cerebellar territory in each case (a s well as other territories in two cases). A case of generalised cereb ellar atrophy and three cases of unilateral cerebellar hemisphere atro phy were identified as well. In nine of these ten cases abnormalities were also seen elsewhere in the brain. Conclusion. The literature desc ribes cerebellar infarction in infants and children as rare, but this study shows that it is not unusual following perinatal haemorrhagic/is chaemic anoxic injury. It is suggested that cerebellar atrophy may als o occur as a result of vascular disease.