Definition of Leukomalacia, cystic periventricular
< b>Leukomalacia, cystic periventricular: Softening of the white matter near
the ventricles of the brain resulting in abnormal cysts.
Cystic periventricular leukomalacia is a major problem in very premature infants.
Treating the mother with a cortisone-like drug before the premature birth has
been discovered to protect the baby's brain from this complication. A research team
reported a retrospective (backward-looking) analysis of the outcomes for 883 infants
born between 24 and 31 weeks' gestation. The report was in The New England Journal
of Medicine. Before delivery, 361 of the mothers received betamethasone (the key
cortisone-like drug), 165 received dexamethasone (another cortisone-like drug) and
357 received no cortisone-like drug at all. In infants born to the mothers in these
three groups, the rates of cystic periventricular leukomalacia were 4.4%, 11.0%
and 8.4%, respectively. Betamethasone significantly reduced the risk of cystic periventricular
leukomalacia. (Reference: N Engl J Med 1999;341:1190-1196,1229-1230.)
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