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Periventricular white matter injury (PVWMI) in preterm infants is a leading cause of cerebral palsy. Mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) transplantation in experimental models of adult demyelinating conditions is reported to reduce neurological deficits so we investigated their potential for treating developmental PVWMI. Neonatal rat MSCs, when cultured and labeled in vitro with fluorescent, micrometer-sized paramagnetic iron oxide particles (MPIO), retained their differentiation potential. Rats received bilateral intracerebral injections of ibotenic acid at postnatal day 5 causing PVWMI-like lesions with localized hypomyelination and sensorimotor deficits. MPIO-labeled MSCs were transplanted near the lesion in the right hemisphere 1day postlesioning. Animals receiving cell transplants showed significantly increased antimyelin immunoreactivity in the corpus callosum, and improved reaching and retrieval skills, compared …