Neuroimaging and neuropathological characteristics of cerebellar injury in extremely low birth weight infants

In MRI-defined lesions, the absence of major portions or focal tissue loss was associated with cerebellar parenchymal hemorrhage and/or hemorrhagic infarction, that is destructive lesion. On the other hand, small cerebellum or unilateral atrophy/hypoplasia, that is impaired development, may be related to the cerebellar neuron loss due to hemosiderin deposits in the surface of the cerebellum. The cerebellar injury in ELBWI is probably caused by not only environmental factors such as hemorrhage, hypoxia-ischemia, or other deleterious effect, but also immaturity of the rapidly growing cerebellum in particular gestational age.