Near-Term Fetal Hypoxia–Ischemia in Rabbits

Abstract

MRI observation of deep brain injury 6 to 24 hours after near-term hypoxia-ischemia predicts dystonic hypertonia postnatally. Torque-displacement measurements indicate that motor deficits in rabbits progressed from initial hypotonia to hypertonia, similar to human cerebral palsy, but in a compressed timeframe. The presence of deep brain injury and quantitative shift from hypo- to hypertonia may identify patients at risk for developing cerebral palsy.