Alterations in Human Brain Biochemistry Following Intrauterine Growth Retardation

Analyses of brains from six infants whose birth weights were "small for gestational age" (SGA) and ten infants whose birth weights were ‘appropriate for gestational age" (AGA) show the cerebellum to be the area of the brain most greatly affected by intrauterine underdevelopment. The SGA cerebellar weight was reduced 37% and cellularity 35%, compared to reductions of only 21% and 19% for weight and cellularity in the remainder of the brain. The myelin lipids, cerebroside and sulfatide, were significantly reduced (p < .01) in concentration or total quantity in the brains of SGA infants, in contrast to phospholipids, cholesterol, and gangliosides which did not show a similar reduction. Galactolipid sulfotransferase activity, important in sulfatide formation, was also significantly reduced (p < .01) in the brains from SGA infants.