This volume is based on a highly successful conference dedicated to "Perinatal brain damage:from pathogenesis to neuroprotection". Neonatologists, paediatricians, paediatric neurologists, obstetricians, basic researchers involved in neurosciences, as well as rehabilitation professionals, will be interested by this ensuing publication. The volume covers pathogenic aspects of brain lesions occurring in the fetal and neonatal period, and addresses the issues of diagnostic workup and treatment. The most authoritative basic researchers, clinicians, and specialists in the field of neuroimaging, provide chapters on recent clinical advances.

A subject of particular importance is the neurological vulnerability of the preterm infant, which also touches on ethical aspects of the care of high-risk preterm babies and those born from multiple pregnancies. A particularly original session focuses on cerebral white matter and the many issues related to this crucial part of the developing brain. Experts also deal with cerebral visual impairment, motor development, cognitive function, and the mechanisms underlying the neuronal plasticity of the infant's brain. Concepts of neuroprotection are also outlined, based on pharmacological agents tested on experimental animals and the best drugs used to treat neonatal convulsions.

Perinatal brain damage : from pathogenesis to neuroprotection

The book provides a comprehensive review and update of the newest diagnostic and therapeutic tools in paediatric neurology. Special attention is paid to neuroradiologic and neurophysiologic techniques and to their clinical application, with guidelines and suggestions on how an integrated approach can be used to reach diagnosis. Some of the chapters focus on the newborn infant and the first years of life, highlighting the most appropriate MRI, clinical, and EEG techniques to investigate the developing brain. Techniques used in older children are also presented, including state-of-the art insights that afford a better understanding of the correlation between function and brain structure in young patients with brain lesions.  New genetic discoveries are particularly emphasized, as is the possibility of performing accurate phenotype-genotype correlation by combining latest methods such as muscle MRI and genetic information in order to identify diagnostic MRI patterns associated with specific genetic disorders.  In all chapters an effort is made to combine technical data with clinical applications in order to highlight, when possible, how these novel procedures can also be used in rehabilitation.  This book will be of interest to paediatricians, paediatric neurologists, neonatologists, and, indeed, to all those who are involved in the diagnosis and care of children with neurologic disabilities.

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