Fetal MRI: obstetrical and neurological perspectives.

Despite major advances in the understanding and in the genetics of several diseases of the developing brain, early prediction of the neurological prognosis of brain abnormality discovered in utero or of white matter damage discovered in a preterm neonate remains particularly difficult. Advances in prenatal diagnosis and the increased rate of survival of extremely preterm infants who are at higher risk of developing white matter damage underline the critical and urgent need for reliable predictive techniques. New imaging techniques such as diffusion-weighted imaging, magnetic resonance spectroscopy or functional MRI applied to the fetus represent promising tools in this perspective. Copyright 2004 Springer-Verlag