“We demonstrated consistent associations between early cerebral palsy diagnosis and the fiber density (FD), fiber-bundle cross-section (FC), and fiber density and cross-section (FDC) for each of the nine examined tracts,” says Rahul Chandwani, MD, Perinatal Institute, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital.

Dr. Greg Vigna, MD, JD, a neurological injury attorney who is Board Certified in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation says, “In other words, babies born very pre-term (less than 32 weeks) are at high risk for motor impairments, including cerebral palsy. Early structural MRI and diffusion MRI at term-equivalent age provide diagnostic evidence of cerebral palsy based on findings consistent with injury in nine sensorimotor tracts. Early diagnosis for babies at risk allows for early therapeutic intervention when the clinical diagnosis is unclear.”

Dr. Vigna adds, “This study indicates that structural and diffusion MRI testing of term-equivalent age babies can reliably diagnose cerebral palsy when there is radiologic evidence of injuries to the right and left corticospinal tract, the right and left superior thalamic radiations (motor), the right and left superior thalamic radiations (sensory), the right and left posterior thalamic radiations, and the corpus callosum. When this radiologic evidence is combined with the clinical tests, the HINE and Prechtl’s GMA at 3-4 months corrected age, the diagnosis of cerebral palsy is made.”

Dr. Vigna concludes, “The days when diagnoses of cerebral palsy are delayed for two years are over, we hope.”

Read Dr. Chandwani’s article, “Early Micro- and Macrostructure of Sensorimotor Tracts and Development of Cerebral Palsy in High-risk Infants” in Human Brain Mapp. 2021; 42:4708-4721: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8410533/

Read Dr. Vigna’s book, “The Mother’s Guide to Birth Injury.”

Dr. Vigna is a California and Washington DC lawyer who focuses on neurological injuries caused by medical negligence and is a birth injury attorney. Ben Martin Law Group is a national pharmaceutical injury and birth injury law firm in Dallas, Texas. The attorneys are product liability and medical malpractice attorneys, and they represent neurological injuries across the country.

To learn more, visit the Vigna Law Group.