Absence of pestivirus antigen in brains with white matter damage

Is some white matter damage in preterm neonates induced by a human pestivirus?

We oVer the hypothesis that some forms of cerebral white matter damage (WMD) in preterm neonates might be caused by transplacental viral infection of the fetus during the first or second trimester of pregnancy. Potts and colleagues speculated on the possible role of a human pestivirus (PV) in the aetiology of congenital microcephaly. We suggest PV might be a candidate virus for some form of WMD...

Excitotoxic damage to white matter.

Glutamate kills neurons by excitotoxicity, which is caused by sustained activation of glutamate receptors. In recent years, it has been shown that glutamate can also be toxic to white matter oligodendrocytes and to myelin by this mechanism. In particular, glutamate receptor-mediated injury to these cells can be triggered by activation of alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methylisoxazole-4-propionic acid,...

White matter heritability using diffusion tensor imaging in neonatal brains.

Understanding genetic and environmental effects on white matter development in the first years of life is of great interest, as it provides insights into the etiology of neurodevelopmental disorders. In this study, the genetic and environmental effects on white matter were estimated using data from 173 neonatal twin subjects. Diffusion tensor imaging scans were acquired around 40 days after bir...

Impact of White Matter Damage After Stroke

Impaired cerebrovascular hemodynamics are associated with cerebral white matter damage.

White matter hyperintensities (WMH) in elderly individuals with vascular diseases are presumed to be due to ischemic small vessel diseases; however, their etiology is unknown. We examined the cross-sectional relationship between cerebrovascular hemodynamics and white matter structural integrity in elderly individuals with vascular risk factors. White matter hyperintensity volumes, fractional an...