Objective
This study was designed to evaluate the correlation of periventricular leukomalacia (PVL) on brain MRI and Denver II and Capute developmental test.

Method
Thirty children with PVL on brain MRI showing delayed development were included. The severity of PVL was graded as localized/generalized lesion in three fields; periventricular hyperintensity in T2 weighted image (PVHI in T2WI), reduced volume of cerebral white matter (RV of CWM), ventriculomegaly with periventricular wall irregularity (VM with PVWI). Development quotients were obtained by Denver II and Capute test, and assessed according to the severity of PVL.

Results
Although language, fine motor-adaptive, personal- social scale of Denver II and cognitive-adaptive and clinical linguistic and auditory milestone of Capute test had little correlation with severity of PVL, gross motor developmental scale assessed by Denver II had a certain degree of correlation with severity of PVL which was not significant statistically. The gross motor developmental scale of the nineteen preterm births had a significant correlation with VM with PVWI, but the other developmental scales still had no significant correlation with PVL.

Conclusion
As for the children with delayed development the degree of motor development was a significant predictor of the PVL on brain MRI, but those of language and cognitive development were not. (J Korean Acad Rehab Med 2002; 26: 273-278)