Although nitric oxide did not reduce the risk of all neurologic complications, only 12% of the infants who received it suffered a severe brain haemorrhage or tissuedamage, compared to 24% of those who did not.
The retinal nerve fiber layer is the one part of the brain where nerve cells are not covered with the fat and protein sheathing called myelin, making this assessment specific for nerve damage as opposed to brain MRI changes, which reflect an array of different types oftissue processes in the brain.