[Multifocal periventricular leukomalacia in children up to 1 year of life].

The authors present an analysis of the multifocal leucoencephalomalacia in children under 1 year of life based on the material obtained from 2.398 autopsies. It was found that 32 autopsied children suffered from this disease (1.33%). Twenty four of these children were premature. The disease was more frequent in the infants (23 cases) than in neonates (9 cases), and in boys (20 cases) than in girls (12 cases). Multifocal leucoenephalomalacia was manifested mainly as spastic infantile paralysis in the majority of the infants (14 cases). Morphological lesions to the brain most frequently embraced white substance adjacent to the cerebral ventricles (foci of leucoencephalomalacia of 1 cm in diameter) and cerebral vessels. Widening of the ventricular system of the brain was seen in 15 cases. Pathological reaction resulted from the brain anoxia and ischemia in perinatal period (20 cases) or septicaemia (12 cases) while predisposing factors included: prematurity, respiratory failure with hyaline membranes in the lungs and congenital abnormalities of the heart.