Affiliations: Department of Pediatrics, University of California San
Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA | Department of Neurology, University of California San
Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA | Division of Neurology, Department of Pediatrics,
University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Note: [] Correspondence: Sonia L. Bonifacio, MD, 521 Parnassus Avenue,
Room C-215, San Francisco, CA 94143-0663, USA. E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract: Neonatal seizures are a symptom of brain dysfunction and frequently
signal the clinician to look further for evidence of a pathologic intracranial
or systemic process. Imaging the newborn brain is a critically important part
of the evaluation of the newborn with seizures. Determining the underlying
diagnosis is critical for appropriate treatment and accurately counseling the
caregivers of affected newborns. Brain imaging provides the best aid in
identification of causative brain abnormalities, including injury, and
ultimately provides important insight into the prognosis of the newborn with
seizures. Recent advances in specialized magnetic resonance techniques provide
the opportunity to further study the effects of neonatal seizures in
vivo, by measuring regional brain metabolism. As these advanced magnetic
resonance imaging modalities can identify newborns at high risk of seizures, as
well as those newborns at highest risk of adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes,
they will further enable the study of emerging anti-seizure therapies on the
newborn brain.
