Which statement about PVL would be true?

Which statement about PVL would be true?

• A. It is not a brain injury
• B. It is exclusively a spinal cord injury
• C. It is a brain injury seen in preterm infants
• D. It is the same as intraventricular hemorrhage

Answer: (C)

PVL, or periventricular leukomalacia, is a brain injury affecting the white matter near the ventricles that most often occurs in preterm infants. The developing cells in that area are particularly vulnerable to hypoxic-ischemic injury, leading to white matter damage that can disrupt motor pathways and result in cerebral palsy features, commonly spastic diplegia. This is not a spinal cord injury, and it is not the same as intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH), which is bleeding into the ventricular system; PVL can occur with or independently of IVH, but they are different processes. So the true statement is that PVL is a brain injury seen in preterm infants.

PVL, or periventricular leukomalacia, is a brain injury affecting the white matter near the ventricles that most often occurs in preterm infants. The developing cells in that area are particularly vulnerable to hypoxic-ischemic injury, leading to white matter damage that can disrupt motor pathways and result in cerebral palsy features, commonly spastic diplegia. This is not a spinal cord injury, and it is not the same as intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH), which is bleeding into the ventricular system; PVL can occur with or independently of IVH, but they are different processes. So the true statement is that PVL is a brain injury seen in preterm infants.