A bilateral lesion of the periventricular white matter thought to be due to ischema, although there is some debate about its causes. First described in 1869 by Rudolf Ludwig Karl Virchow (1821-1902), it is typified by damage to the cerebral white matter bordering on the lateral ventricles. Consists of areas of necrosis that often form cavitating cysts, and the resulting lesions can damage the corticospinal tracts innervating the lower extremities, leading to spastic diplegia. It occurs more in preterm infants of less than 30 weeks gestation.
See Corticospinal tract (CST), Diffusion tensor imaging, Hypertonia, Intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH), Ischemia, Periventricular hemorrhagic infarction (PVI), Spastic diplegia, Ventricle, Periventricular white matter, Preterm infant