A comparative study of cerebellar development between appropriate-for-gestational age infants and small-for-gestational-age infants

Abstract:

Objective To investigate whether there is a difference in cerebellar development between appropriate-for-gestational-age (AGA) infants and small-for-gestational-age (SGA) infants. Methods A total of 165 AGA infants and 105 SGA infants, with a gestational age of 26-40⁺⁶ weeks, were enrolled in this study. Within 24-48 hours after birth, ultrasound examination was performed to measure the transverse diameter of the cerebellum, the height of the vermis, the area of the vermis, the perimeter of the vermis, and the area and perimeter of the cerebellum on transverse section. A Pearson correlation analysis was used to investigate the correlation between cerebellar measurements and gestational age. Results In both AGA and SGA infants, all cerebellar measurements were positively correlated with gestational age (r=0.50-0.81, P < 0.05). In AGA and SGA infants, there were no significant differences in the measurements between the 25-27⁺⁶ weeks, 28-30⁺⁶ weeks, and 31-33⁺⁶ weeks of gestational age subgroups (P > 0.05), while in the 34-36⁺⁶ weeks and 37-40⁺⁶ weeks subgroups, the SGA infants had significantly lower measurements than the AGA infants (P < 0.05). Conclusions The SGA infants with a gestational age of <34 weeks have intrauterine cerebellar development similar to AGA infants, but those with a gestational age of ≥ 34 weeks have poorer intrauterine cerebellar development than AGA infants.