Feasibility of a Standardised Mid-Trimester Ultrasound Protocol: A National Multicenter Study.

Objective: Evaluate the feasibility and quality of a national standardised mid-trimester ultrasound protocol using a consensus-based quality assessment (QA) scoring system.

Design: Multicenter prospective observational 'FLASH' study.

Setting: (i) Assessing the feasibility of a standardised protocol of 24 views at the mid-trimester scan, with 21 recommended and 3 additional views, in routine practice.

Overview of reproductive and pregnancy health principles and practice used by maternal-fetal medicine specialists for fetal-neonatal neurology consultants.

Unique from other fetal anatomical systems, the central nervous system (CNS) starts development early in the embryonic period shortly after fertilization before most patients are even aware they are pregnant. Maturation throughout pregnancy involve complicated structural and functional changes, most likely below the resolution of testing to detect. During this time, the fetal CNS is susceptible to lesions that reflect trimester-specific adverse events.

Lethal multiple pterygium syndrome, large cystic hygroma, and cleft palate: Rare and severe fetal presentations of RYR1- and NEB-related congenital myopathies.

Congenital myopathies are a genetically heterogeneous group of neuromuscular disorders that commonly present with congenital hypotonia and weakness but can also present broadly. The most severe presentation is neonatal with arthrogryposis and, rarely, fetal akinesia and pterygia, features also seen in lethal multiple pterygium syndrome (LMPS). We describe two fetuses with similar phenotype, including hydrops fetalis, large cystic hygromas, bilateral talipes, and fetal akinesia in the second trimester.

Placental T2* and BOLD effect in response to hyperoxia in normal and growth-restricted pregnancies: multicenter cohort study.

Objectives: Blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) facilitates the non-invasive in-vivo evaluation of placental oxygenation. The aims of this study were to identify and quantify a relative BOLD effect in response to hyperoxia in the human placenta and to compare it between pregnancies with and those without fetal growth restriction (FGR).

Methods: This was a prospective multicenter study (NCT02238301) of 19 pregnancies with FGR (estimated fetal weight (EFW) on ultrasound < 5 centile) and 75 non-FGR pregnancies (controls) recruited at two centers in Paris, France.

Quantitative fetal MRI with diffusion tensor imaging in cases with 'short' corpus callosum.

Objectives: It has been suggested previously that the presence of Probst bundles (PB) in cases with a short corpus callosum (SCC) on diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) may help to differentiate between corpus callosal (CC) dysplasia and a variant of normal CC development. The objectives of this study were to compare DTI parameters between cases of SCC vs normal CC and between cases of SCC with PB (SCC-PB+) vs SCC without PB (SCC-PB-).

Methods: This was a retrospective study of patients referred to the Necker Hospital in Paris, France, for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) evaluation of an apparently isolated SCC detected by sonography between November 2016 and December 2022 (IRB: 00011928).

Diffusion tensor imaging of fetal spinal cord: feasibility and gestational-age-related changes.

Objectives: Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) of the fetal brain is a relatively new technique that allows evaluation of white matter tracts of the central nervous system throughout pregnancy, as well as in certain pathological conditions. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the feasibility of DTI of the spinal cord in utero and to examine gestational-age (GA)-related changes in DTI parameters during pregnancy.

Methods: This was a prospective study conducted between December 2021 and June 2022 in the LUMIERE Platform, Necker-Enfants Malades Hospital, Paris, France, as part of the LUMIERE SUR LE FETUS trial.

Corpus callosal reference ranges: systematic review of methodology of biometric chart construction and measurements obtained.

Objective: Adequate reference ranges of size of the corpus callosum (CC) are necessary to improve characterization of CC abnormalities and parental counseling. The objective of this study was to evaluate the methodology used in studies developing references charts for CC biometry.

Methods: We conducted a systematic review of studies on fetal CC biometry using a set of predefined quality criteria of study design, statistical analysis and reporting methods.

The Implementation of Preeclampsia Screening and Prevention (IMPRESS) Study.

Background: Preeclampsia affects between 2% and 5% of pregnancies and is one of the leading causes of perinatal morbidity and mortality worldwide. Despite strong evidence that the combination of systematic preeclampsia screening based on the Fetal Medicine Foundation preeclampsia risk calculation algorithm with treatment of high-risk patients with low-dose aspirin reduces the incidence of preterm preeclampsia more than currently used risk-factor-based screening, real-world implementation studies have not yet been done in Canada.

Objective: This study aimed to assess the operational feasibility of implementing first-trimester screening and prevention of preterm preeclampsia (<37 weeks) alongside a publicly funded first-trimester combined screening program for aneuploidies.

Diffusion tensor imaging of fetal brain: principles, potential and limitations of promising technique.

Human brain development is a complex process that begins in the third week of gestation. During early development, the fetal brain undergoes dynamic morphological changes. These changes result from events such as neurogenesis, neuronal migration, synapse formation, axonal growth and myelination.

Feasibility and Added Value of Fetal DTI Tractography in the Evaluation of an Isolated Short Corpus Callosum: Preliminary Results.

Background And Purpose: Prognosis of isolated short corpus callosum is challenging. Our aim was to assess whether fetal DTI tractography can distinguish callosal dysplasia from variants of normal callosal development in fetuses with an isolated short corpus callosum.

Materials And Methods: This was a retrospective study of 37 cases referred for fetal DTI at 30.

Delayed maturation of P2 flash visual evoked potential (VEP) latency in newborns of gestational diabetic mothers.

Background: The prevalence of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) has rapidly increased, yet few prior studies have investigated parameters of early brain development in infants born to gestational diabetic mothers. The present study assessed visual evoked potentials (VEPs) in healthy infants born to gestational diabetic mothers and matched controls.

Methods: After exclusions, in this prospective study we examined VEPs in 73 neonates between 37 weeks and 41 weeks gestation at birth (n = 37 infants of gestational diabetic mothers).

MRI based morphological examination of the placenta.

Ultrasound is widely used as the initial diagnostic imaging modality during pregnancy with both high spatial and temporal resolution. Although MRI in pregnancy has long focused on the fetus, its use in placental imaging has greatly increased over recent years. In addition to the possibilities of evaluating function, MRI with a wide field of view and high contrast resolution allows characterization of placental anatomy, particularly in situations that are difficult to specify with ultrasound, especially for suspected placenta accreta.

Ultrasound and Fetal MRI Complementary Contributions to Appropriate Counseling in Small Bowel Obstruction.

Objective: Bowel obstructions beyond the duodenum represent a heterogeneous group of congenital anomalies with a highly variable prognosis, the main issue being postnatal short bowel syndrome (SBS). The objective of our study was to evaluate the contributions of fetal MRI in cases of bowel obstruction.

Materials And Methods: A retrospective analysis of all newborns, for whom both ante-natal ultrasound and fetal MRI were available, referred to our center for suspected bowel obstruction was performed.

Asymmetric optic disc edema in a young patient with POEMS: A rare presentation of a rare disease.

Purpose: To describe a case of asymmetric optic disc edema presenting as the initial ocular feature of POEMS (Polyneuropathy, Organomegaly, Endocrinopathy, Monoclonal gammopathy, Skin changes) syndrome.

Observations: A 29-year-old female patient presented with 3 weeks history of blurred vision, proptosis, and peripheral neuropathy as well as hypothyroidism. Fundoscopy revealed optic disc edema associated with visual loss in the left eye.

The use of fetal MRI for renal and urogenital tract anomalies.

Fetal anomalies are detected in approximately 2% of all fetuses and, among these, genitourinary tract abnormalities account for 30% to 50% of all structural anomalies present at birth. Although ultrasound remains the first line diagnostic modality, fetal MRI provides important additional structural and functional information, especially with the development of faster sequences and the use of functional sequences. The added value of MRI-based imaging is three-fold: (a) improvement of diagnostic accuracy by adequate morphological examination, (b) detection of additional anomalies, and (c) in addition, MRI has the potential to provide information regarding renal function.

The use of image fusion in prenatal medicine.

Fusion imaging (FI), the simultaneous display of the same anatomical region using two imaging modalities, has been used in other areas of medicine for both diagnosis and guiding interventions. Examples include positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT) imaging in oncology and ultrasound-magnetic resonance imaging (US-MRI) fusion in biopsies of the prostate gland. The underlying principle is to take advantage of the complementary information in each modality to improve accuracy, be it diagnostic accuracy or targeting accuracy in biopsies.

Cost-effectiveness of five prenatal screening strategies for trisomies and other unbalanced chromosomal abnormalities: model-based analysis.

Objective: To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of five prenatal screening strategies for trisomies (13/18/21) and other unbalanced chromosomal abnormalities (UBCA), following the introduction of cell-free DNA (cfDNA) analysis.

Methods: A model-based cost-effectiveness analysis was performed to estimate prevalence, safety, screening-program costs and healthcare costs of five different prenatal screening strategies, using a virtual cohort of 652 653 pregnant women in France. Data were derived from the French Biomedicine Agency and published articles.

Reduced Levels of Proteasome Products in a Mouse Striatal Cell Model of Huntington's Disease.

Huntington's disease is the result of a long polyglutamine tract in the gene encoding huntingtin protein, which in turn causes a large number of cellular changes and ultimately results in neurodegeneration of striatal neurons. Although many theories have been proposed, the precise mechanism by which the polyglutamine expansion causes cellular changes is not certain. Some evidence supports the hypothesis that the long polyglutamine tract inhibits the proteasome, a multiprotein complex involved in protein degradation.

Assessment of chronic renal allograft nephropathy using contrast-enhanced MRI: a pilot study.

Objective: Renal allograft function monitoring has traditionally relied on functional markers such as creatinine level. Such markers are insensitive, and invasive ultrasound-guided protocol biopsies are used for allograft evaluation. This pilot study evaluates the association between renal perfusion measured noninvasively with contrast-enhanced MRI and the histologic severity of chronic allograft nephropathy.

Dynamic half-Fourier single-shot turbo spin echo for assessment of deep venous thrombosis: initial observations.

Objective: The objective of this study was to retrospectively analyze the value of dynamic half-Fourier single-shot turbo spin echo (HASTE) imaging in patients with suspected deep venous thrombosis (DVT).

Materials And Methods: Fifty-five veins in 24 patients were interrogated using a HASTE sequence with the patients relaxed and in various degrees of Valsalva. Veins were analyzed for changes in caliber (+CAL) and signal intensity (+SI) or in their absence (-CAL and -SI, respectively) and compared with the presence of thrombus on gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging.