Download PDF
Am J Perinatol
DOI: 10.1055/a-1877-6569
Letter to the Editor

Intrapartum Basal Ganglia–Thalamic Pattern Injury

Johan Smith
1   Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa
,
Regan Solomons 
1   Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa
,
Lindi Volmer
2   Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa
,
Jan W. Lotz
3   Division of Radiodiagnosis, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa
,
John Anthony
4   Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
,
Ronald van Toorn
1   Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa
› Author Affiliations
› Further Information
Also available at
    Permissions and Reprints

The comments and criticisms with regard to Smith et al have reference (Buchmann and Bhorat). Buchmann and Bhorat stated that Smith et al “disputes the current belief that the basal ganglia-thalamic (BGT) pattern injury is almost always caused by an often unexpected severe hypoxic–ischemic insult of sudden (or acute) onset lasting more than 10minutes in a previously normoxic foetus and submits that the conclusions drawn by Smith et al rely on faulty interpretation of the literature and deficient research methodology.”[1]



Publication History

Received: 08 March 2022

Accepted: 03 June 2022

Accepted Manuscript online:
16 June 2022

Article published online:
08 September 2022

© 2022. Thieme. All rights reserved.

Thieme Medical Publishers, Inc.
333 Seventh Avenue, 18th Floor, New York, NY 10001, USA

 

  • References

  • 1 Smith J, Solomons R, Vollmer L. et al. Intrapartum basal ganglia-thalamic pattern injury and radiologically termed “acute profound hypoxic-ischemic brain injury” are not synonymous. Am J Perinatol 2020; (e-pub ahead of print) DOI: 10.1055/s-0040-1721692.
    Article in Thieme ConnectPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 2 Executive summary: neonatal encephalopathy and neurologic outcome, second edition. Report of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists' Task Force on Neonatal Encephalopathy. Obstet Gynecol 2014; 123 (04) 896-901
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 3 Janbu T, Nesheim BI. Uterine artery blood velocities during contractions in pregnancy and labour related to intrauterine pressure. Br J Obstet Gynaecol 1987; 94 (12) 1150-1155
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 4 Oosterhof H, Dijkstra K, Aarnoudse JG. Uteroplacental Doppler velocimetry during Braxton Hicks' contractions. Gynecol Obstet Invest 1992; 34 (03) 155-158
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 5 Li H, Gudmundsson S, Olofsson P. Acute increase of umbilical artery vascular flow resistance in compromised fetuses provoked by uterine contractions. Early Hum Dev 2003; 74 (01) 47-56
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 6 Tchirikov M, Eisermann K, Rybakowski C, Schröder HJ. Doppler ultrasound evaluation of ductus venosus blood flow during acute hypoxemia in fetal lambs. Ultrasound Obstet Gynecol 1998; 11 (06) 426-431
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 7 Volpe JJ. Neonatal encephalopathy: an inadequate term for hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy. Ann Neurol 2012; 72 (02) 156-166
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 8 Gunn AJ, Bennet L. Fetal hypoxia insults and patterns of brain injury: insights from animal models. Clin Perinatol 2009; 36 (03) 579-593
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 9 De Haan HH, Gunn AJ, Williams CE, Gluckman PD. Brief repeated umbilical cord occlusions cause sustained cytotoxic cerebral edema and focal infarcts in near-term fetal lambs. Pediatr Res 1997; 41 (01) 96-104
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 10 McNamara H, Johnson N. The effect of uterine contractions on fetal oxygen saturation. Br J Obstet Gynaecol 1995; 102 (08) 644-647
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 11 Peebles DM, Spencer JA, Edwards AD. et al. Relation between frequency of uterine contractions and human fetal cerebral oxygen saturation studied during labour by near infrared spectroscopy. Br J Obstet Gynaecol 1994; 101 (01) 44-48
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 12 Dildy GA, van den Berg PP, Katz M. et al. Intrapartum fetal pulse oximetry: fetal oxygen saturation trends during labor and relation to delivery outcome. Am J Obstet Gynecol 1994; 171 (03) 679-684
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 13 Juul SE, Aylward E, Richards T, McPherson RJ, Kuratani J, Burbacher TM. Prenatal cord clamping in newborn Macaca nemestrina: a model of perinatal asphyxia. Dev Neurosci 2007; 29 (4-5): 311-320
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 14 Robertson NJ, Lewis RH, Cowan FM. et al. Early increases in brain myo-inositol measured by proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy in term infants with neonatal encephalopathy. Pediatr Res 2001; 50 (06) 692-700
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 15 Ranck Jr. JB, Windle WF. Brain damage in the monkey, Macaca mulatta, by asphyxia neonatorum. Exp Neurol 1959; 1 (02) 130-154
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 16 Myers RE. Four patterns of perinatal brain damage and their conditions of occurrence in primates. Adv Neurol 1975; 10: 223-234
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 17 Mallard EC, Gunn AJ, Williams CE, Johnston BM, Gluckman PD. Transient umbilical cord occlusion causes hippocampal damage in the fetal sheep. Am J Obstet Gynecol 1992; 167 (05) 1423-1430
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 18 Mallard EC, Williams CE, Gunn AJ, Gunning MI, Gluckman PD. Frequent episodes of brief ischemia sensitize the fetal sheep brain to neuronal loss and induce striatal injury. Pediatr Res 1993; 33 (01) 61-65
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 19 Mallard EC, Williams CE, Johnston BM, Gunning MI, Davis S, Gluckman PD. Repeated episodes of umbilical cord occlusion in fetal sheep lead to preferential damage to the striatum and sensitize the heart to further insults. Pediatr Res 1995; 37 (06) 707-713
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 20 Gunn AJ, Parer JT, Mallard EC, Williams CE, Gluckman PD. Cerebral histologic and electrocorticographic changes after asphyxia in fetal sheep. Pediatr Res 1992; 31 (05) 486-491
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 21 Volpe JJ. Hypoxic-ischemic injury in the term infant: pathophysiology. Volpe JJ, Inder TE, Darras BT, de Vries LS, du Plessis AJ, Neil JJ. eds. Volpe's Neurology of the Newborn. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2018: 500-509
    Google Scholar
  • 22 American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists; American Academy of Pediatrics. Neonatal Encephalopathy and Neurologic Outcome.. 2nd ed. Chicago, IL: American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists; 2019
    PubMed
  • 23 Shankaran S, Laptook AR, McDonald SA. et al; Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health, and Human Development Neonatal Research Network. Acute perinatal sentinel events, neonatal brain injury pattern, and outcome of infants undergoing a trial of hypothermia for neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy. J Pediatr 2017; 180: 275-278.e2
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 24 Okumura A, Hayakawa F, Kato T, Kuno K, Watanabe K. Bilateral basal ganglia-thalamic lesions subsequent to prolonged fetal bradycardia. Early Hum Dev 2000; 58 (02) 111-118
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar