Hypoglycemic injury to the immature brain.

Despite the fact that hypoglycemia is an extremely common disorder of the newborn, consensus has been difficult to reach regarding definition, diagnosis, outcome, and treatment. With improved neuroradiologic techniques, such as MRI and PET scanning becoming increasingly available, studies to determine the correlation between hypoglycemia and outcome will help to clarify issues surrounding the effects of hypoglycemia on brain pathology. Long-term epidemiologic studies correlating the severity and duration of hypoglycemia with neurologic consequences are required, and can be complemented by appropriate parallel investigations in animal models of neonatal hypoglycemia.