Editorial: White blood cells matter in neonatal white-matter injury.

Neonatal brain injury remains a common occurrence in preterm infants, and with the enhanced survival of extremely preterm infants, the rates of neonatal brain injury are likely to increase in the future. The most common neuropathological finding in preterm infants is diffuse injury to the cerebral white matter. The etiology of preterm birth and white-matter injury is often unclear; however, placental insufficiency/ fetal hypoxia and infection/inflammation are important risk factors. Fourteen years ago, it was first suggested that white blood cells might play a significant role in neonatal whiter-matter injury [1]. However, it was not until more recently that several studies have been performed to support further the link between peripheral immune cells and neonatal whitematter injury.