Article

Early intervention programmes based on the manipulation of the extra-uterine
environment have been used in preterm infants with the aim of improving
development and functional outcome. Infant massage, among them, has proved
effective for weight gain and reduced length of stay in the neonatal intensive
care unit. We have recently shown that infant massage accelerates brain
maturation of low-risk preterm infants without brain abnormalities as measured by
global parameters of electroencephalography (EEG) activity. In the present study
we further analyse the same cohort of preterm infants, testing the hypothesis
that massage determines changes in EEG spectral activity, a highly sensitive
index of brain maturation. METHOD: Infants were randomly allocated to a massage
or comparison group. Intervention consisted of standard care only (comparison
group) or standard care plus infant massage (massage group). Massage was started
at around 10 days after birth and was provided for 12 days during a 2-week
period. EEG was performed at around 1 and 4 weeks, i.e. before and after
intervention. Spectral EEG analysis was performed on 80 seconds of active sleep,
applying the fast Fourier transform on the signal obtained from eight monopolar
derivations. RESULTS: The modification in global EEG spectral power between the
two assessments was significantly different for the two groups, especially for
the delta band activity; the spectral power did not change in massaged infants
although, not surprisingly, it decreased significantly in the comparison group,
as shown by previous studies. INTERPRETATION: We propose that massage
intervention affects the maturation of brain electrical activity and favours a
process more similar to that observed in utero in term infants.
CI - (c) The Authors. Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology (c) 2011 Mac Keith
Press.

Langue : ANGLAIS