Background And Purpose: Brain injury is a major complication in neonates with complex congenital heart disease. Preliminary evidence suggests that fetuses with congenital heart disease are at greater risk for brain abnormalities. However, the nature and frequency of these brain abnormalities detected by conventional fetal MR imaging has not been examined prospectively. Our primary objective was to determine the prevalence and spectrum of brain abnormalities detected on conventional clinical MR imaging in fetuses with complex congenital heart disease and, second, to compare the congenital heart disease cohort with a control group of fetuses from healthy pregnancies.
Materials And Methods: We prospectively recruited pregnant women with a confirmed fetal congenital heart disease diagnosis and healthy volunteers with normal fetal echocardiogram findings who underwent a fetal MR imaging between 18 and 39 weeks gestational age.
Results: A total of 338 fetuses (194 controls; 144 with congenital heart disease) were studied at a mean gestational age of 30.61 ± 4.67 weeks. Brain abnormalities were present in 23% of the congenital heart disease group compared with 1.5% in the control group (P < .001). The most common abnormalities in the congenital heart disease group were mild unilateral ventriculomegaly in 12/33 (36.4%) and increased extra-axial spaces in 10/33 (30.3%). Subgroup analyses comparing the type and frequency of brain abnormalities based on cardiac physiology did not reveal significant associations, suggesting that the brain abnormalities were not limited to those with the most severe congenital heart disease.
Conclusions: This is the first large prospective study reporting conventional MR imaging findings in fetuses with congenital heart disease. Our results suggest that brain abnormalities are prevalent but relatively mild antenatally in fetuses with congenital heart disease. The long-term predictive value of these findings awaits further study.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7964442 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.3174/ajnr.A3903 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Virtual 3D reconstruction of complex congenital cardiac anatomy from 3D rotational angiography.
3D Print Med
January 2025
Department of Pediatric Cardiology, The Heart Institute, University of Colorado, Children's Hospital Colorado, 13123 E 16th Ave B100, 80045, Aurora, CO, USA.
Background: Despite advancements in imaging technologies, including CT scans and MRI, these modalities may still fail to capture intricate details of congenital heart defects accurately. Virtual 3D models have revolutionized the field of pediatric interventional cardiology by providing clinicians with tangible representations of complex anatomical structures. We examined the feasibility and accuracy of utilizing an automated, Artificial Intelligence (AI) driven, cloud-based platform for virtual 3D visualization of complex congenital heart disease obtained from 3D rotational angiography DICOM images.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFComorbidities and Healthcare Utilization Among Young Adults With Congenital Heart Defects by Down Syndrome Status-Congenital Heart Survey to Recognize Outcomes, Needs, and wellbeinG, 2016-2019.
Birth Defects Res
February 2025
National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
Background: Almost half of individuals born with Down syndrome (DS) have congenital heart defects (CHDs). Yet, little is known about the health and healthcare needs of adults with CHDs and DS. Therefore, we examined comorbidities and healthcare utilization of this population.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUnlabelled: During vertebrate development, the heart primarily arises from mesoderm, with crucial contributions from cardiac neural crest cells that migrate to the heart and form a variety of cardiovascular derivatives. Here, by integrating bulk and single cell RNA-seq with ATAC-seq, we identify a gene regulatory subcircuit specific to migratory cardiac crest cells composed of key transcription factors and . Notably, we show that cells expressing the canonical neural crest gene are essential for proper cardiac regeneration in adult zebrafish.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMid-trimester resolution of marked dextroposition of the fetal heart preceding regression of extensive left fetal lung lesion consisting of hybrid congenital pulmonary airway malformation (CPAM) and bronchopulmonary sequestration (BPS).
Radiol Case Rep
March 2025
Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, State University of New York (SUNY), Downstate Health Sciences University, Brooklyn, NY, USA.
Extensive congenital pulmonary airway malformation (CPAM) of the left fetal lung and associated marked dextroposition of the fetal heart were noted at 21 weeks' gestation. The right fetal lung appeared compressed with the cardiomediastinal shift angle measuring approximately 20 degrees. Potential subsequent right pulmonary hypoplasia was considered.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRelationship between pregnant women's combined exposure to heavy metals and their offspring's congenital heart defects in Lanzhou, China.
Front Pediatr
January 2025
Gansu University of Chinese Medicine, Lanzhou, Gansu Province, China.
Background: Previous research has demonstrated that exposure to individual heavy metals elevates the incidence rate of congenital heart defects (CHDs). However, there is a paucity of data concerning the relationship between combined exposure to multiple heavy metals and the occurrence of CHDs. This study seeks to investigate the association between combined heavy metal exposure in pregnant women and the incidence of CHDs in their offspring in Lanzhou, China.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWant AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!