Prematurely born infants often develop a chronic lung disease known as Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia (BPD). To date, it has only been possible to diagnose the condition based on clinical symptoms and with little differentiation.<\/p>\n
DZL researchers at the Helmholtz Center in Munich and the Medical Center of the University of Munich have therefore developed a new protocol, allowing them to identify premature infants suffering from the disease by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Their findings have been published in Thorax.<\/p>\n
Around 15 to 30 percent of all premature infants with a birth weight of less than 1,000 g or born before week 32 of pregnancy develop BPD1<\/sup><\/a>. Depending on the severity of the disease, BPD causes lung dysfunction, which may be present through to adulthood and, in some cases, result in death. \u201cSo far, we have only been able to diagnose at a late stage and with little differentiation if the baby will develop the condition or not,\u201d says PD Dr. Anne Hilgendorff. She leads the work group \u201cMechanisms of Chronic Lung Disease in Newborns\u201d at the Institute of Lung Biology and Disease (ILBD) and the Comprehensive Pneumology Center (CPC) of the Helmholtz Center in Munich. She is also the director of the Center for Comprehensive Developmental Care at the Medical Center of the University of Munich. Dr. Hilgendorff says: \u201cSpecific options to evaluate structural lung changes while avoiding harmful radiation have not been available in the past, which has made personalized treatment and follow-up difficult.\u201d A new MRI protocol may now be able close this gap.<\/p>\n \u201cWith our research team\u00b2<\/a>, in close cooperation with our colleagues of the Perinatal Center at the Medical Center of the University of Munich as well as the Department of Radiology, we have evaluated the examination of 61 premature infants,\u201d says Dr. Kai F\u00f6rster, a member of Hilgendorff\u2019s work group. All babies participating in the study were born before week 32 of pregnancy. They were already breathing on their own during the examination, which was carried out shortly after the date of birth, so the MRI could be performed during spontaneous sleep. During the statistical analysis of the imaging data in cooperation with the Institute of Computational Biology (ICB) at the Helmholtz Center in Munich, increased T2 and decreased T1 relaxation time\u00b3<\/a> in the MRI indicated the presence of BPD. \u201cOur findings are an important step toward improved, imaging-based phenotyping of infants at risk of developing the disease,\u201d says Dr. Hilgendorff. \u201cThis will enable individual treatment and monitoring approaches in the future.\u201d According to Dr. Hilgendorff, it is now important that large perinatal centers make use of this method and analyze it together in order to identify any potential subtypes of Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia.<\/p>\n PD Dr. Anne HilgendorffScientific Contact:<\/h4>\n
\nHelmholtz Center in Munich
\nInstitute of Lung Biology and Disease & Comprehensive Pneumology Center
\nEmail: a.Hilgendorff@med.uni-muenchen.de<\/a><\/p>\n