Periventricular leukomalacia - infringement of a brain of newborns

The brain, this is the most important thing that is in the human body. It is thanks to him that we can talk, think, and perceive information. But, unfortunately, it also happens that the brain gives a malfunction in its work even during fetal development of the fetus and various diseases begin to develop. One such disease is leukomalacia.

Leukomalacia of the brain is diagnosed in newborns, most often premature infants, with ischemic and hypoxic brain damage.

This is a fairly complex disease that relates to neurological damage to the brain. When the disease develops, lesions caused by necrosis are detected. This is a consequence of hypoxia and further disturbance of blood flow in the brain area.

Periventricular leukomalacia and the mechanism of its development

Since necrosis foci are most often located in the periventricular regions of the white matter of the cerebral hemispheres, almost always the periventicular leukomalacia( PVL).

The disease is almost common in premature babies( rarely premature babies), and there is a direct dependence on body weight. The main disease affects children, whose weight ranges from 1500 to 2000 grams. In this case, the pathology is fixed in every third baby.

According to statistics, almost 60% of preterm infants, or those born with cesarean section, suffer from this disease to a different degree.

Neurosonogram - the arrow indicates the focus of PVD

Since the main factor that provokes leukomalacia is oxygen starvation, in the lesion area, a cystic formation or cavity can also develop. And they are not formed in the womb, but in the first month of life. Therefore, an obligatory condition for each newborn reached the monthly age is the conduct of neurosonography.

With this disease, nerve cells die in the brain, and scars form instead. Also for this violation is characterized by a second hemorrhage.

Short anatomical reference

Foci of the disease are about 2-3 millimeters in diameter and can be found in the parietal lobes and frontal. At the same time, their education is absolutely asymmetric.

The main outcome of the disease is the formation of a huge number of cysts, while they are all of different sizes. On the appearance of necrosis and the formation of cystic joints takes about two weeks, and then in the brain of the baby there is a decrease in the cavities - that is, the atrophy of the neural tissues of the brain.

The provoking factors of

PVL in premature infants occur for the following reasons:

• prematurity of the baby , respectively, as previously indicated, there is a binding to the body weight;
• to a greater extent this disease affects boys , as in girls it occurs less frequently;
• bad habits of the future mother ;
• if the mother has more carbon dioxide in the blood or oxygen poisoning , then the baby is most susceptible to this disease.

Symptoms and manifestations of

When examining a toddler, a neurologist sees that there is excess neural reflex excitability or, on the contrary, occurs in such a way that it is completely absent.

Babe torments convulsive syndrome, characterized by the appearance of muscle hypotension. These symptoms can only be determined by a doctor.

But parents should pay attention to how their baby changes. If the disease has a place to be, then the baby begins to develop strabismus. Also, the child ceases to react to the actions of others, and subsequently, to a greater extent, does not understand what they want from him.

This is how a child who is diagnosed with brain leukomalacia and other friendly pathologies looks. ..

How to help the baby?

Cerebral leukomalacia is accompanied by changes in the nervous tissue and these changes are irreversible, and, unfortunately, there is simply no clear scheme for treating the disease at this time. As a rule, doctors look at the symptoms, and then prescribe the treatment depending on the manifestations of the disorder.

Nootropic medications are used to treat the disease, due to which there is an improvement in blood flow in the brain and metabolism also improves. The drugs that are most often prescribed are Piracetam, Stugeron.

All other therapy, appointed by the doctor, is used to correct motor movements, as well as disorders of psychomotor development.

In order to avoid the appearance of the disease, midwives try to keep the pregnancy as long as possible. But in case the baby was born prematurely, then they must do everything possible for its safety. Immediately after birth, breathing is established, and it is necessarily controlled. It is important that there is a correct ratio of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the blood, there should be normal blood pressure.

If the baby is grown. ..

After the baby reaches the age of one year, the treatment becomes more symptomatic. The condition of the child during this period requires constant monitoring and in case of detection of symptoms of leukomalacia, he is prescribed such drugs as Pantogam, Phenibut. Due to their use, the inhibitory effect occurs in the formations of necrosis zones in the cerebral cortex.

If a child has a sleep disorder, he is prescribed sedatives - Valerian and Melissa. Water treatment also has a good effect.

If a baby has an increase in blood pressure, then prescribe drugs Diacarb, Furosemide or Glycerin. But the last two drugs are not used independently, it is necessary that the body should receive potassium.

All convulsive manifestations are removed with the drug Phenobarbital. If its use causes tachycardia and pressure, then it can be replaced by beta-blockers - Anaprilin and Obsidan.

As the disease entails a disruption in the functioning of the motor apparatus, it is prescribed massage and exercise, as well as physiotherapy.

If there is a delay in the development of the speech device, then teachers and defectologists come to the aid, which will help to correct the speech.

. .. And what rehabilitation methods can help:

Preventive measures

To reduce the risks of leukomalacia development it is necessary: ​​

• to prolong the gestation period, as the shorter the period, the more likely it is to develop this disease;
• , if possible, it is necessary to prevent preterm labor in the parturient woman.

But not only the doctor can affect the development of pregnancy, but the pregnant woman herself can change the situation in a positive way. What you need to do:

• First of all, a pregnant woman is a future mother and she must lead a healthy lifestyle;
• it is impossible, that pregnancy has arisen spontaneously, it needs to be carefully planned;
• food should be well-balanced and balanced;
• every woman in the position should register and strictly follow the recommendations of doctors;

During pregnancy, you should try not to get sick with various diseases, especially viral and infectious. Because of the disease, the future baby can suffer.

Consequences for the future child and adult

A child who has the first symptoms of the disease does not differ from anything from a healthy one, but as soon as the disease starts to progress, it becomes the main cause of the development of cerebral palsy.

With this severity of cerebral palsy symptoms will depend on the severity and the area of ​​brain damage.

At the child during this period you can notice:

• disturbances in consciousness;
• changes in respiratory function;
• changes the swallowing function;
• increases blood pressure;
• strongly suffers from mental development and changes the work of the central nervous system.

The prognosis depends on the scale of the disease itself. If the violations are minimal, they lead to changes in the neurological status, and if they are maximal, then children's cerebral palsy may develop.

Due to the fact that medicine does not stand still, the treatment can help reduce the risks of such diseases.