Longitudinal Assessment of Abnormal Cortical Folding in Fetuses and Neonates With Isolated Non-Severe Ventriculomegaly.

Purpose: The impact of ventriculomegaly (VM) on cortical development and brain functionality has been extensively explored in existing literature. VM has been associated with higher risks of attention-deficit and hyperactivity disorders, as well as cognitive, language, and behavior deficits. Some studies have also shown a relationship between VM and cortical overgrowth, along with reduced cortical folding, both in fetuses and neonates.

Fetal Corpus Callosum Anomalies: A Review of Underlying Genetic Disorders and Prenatal Testing Options.

Anomalies of the corpus callosum (CC) are amongst the most common fetal Central Nervous System (CNS) anomalies detectable on ultrasound. Underlying genetic disease plays an important part in defining prognosis. Associations with aneuploidy and submicroscopic chromosomal deletions or duplications have been well demonstrated using chromosomal microarray analysis.

The Mediterranean Diet in Pregnancy: Implications for Maternal Brain Morphometry in a Secondary Analysis of the IMPACT BCN Randomized Clinical Trial.

Introduction: A Mediterranean diet has positive effects on the brain in mid-older adults; however, there is scarce information on pregnant individuals. We aimed to evaluate the effect of a structured Mediterranean diet intervention on the cortical structure of the maternal brain during pregnancy.

Methods: This study was a secondary analysis of the IMPACT BCN, a randomized clinical trial with 1221 high-risk pregnant women randomly allocated into three groups at 19-23 weeks of gestation: Mediterranean diet intervention, a mindfulness-based stress reduction program, or usual care.

Similarity network fusion to identify phenotypes of small-for-gestational-age fetuses.

Fetal growth restriction (FGR) affects 5-10% of pregnancies, is the largest contributor to fetal death, and can have long-term consequences for the child. Implementation of a standard clinical classification system is hampered by the multiphenotypic spectrum of small fetuses with substantial differences in perinatal risks. Machine learning and multiomics data can potentially revolutionize clinical decision-making in FGR by identifying new phenotypes.

Acute fetal cardiovascular adaptation to artificial placenta in sheep model.

Objective: To describe the acute cardiovascular adaptation of the fetus after connection to an artificial placenta (AP) in a sheep model, using ultrasound and invasive and non-invasive hemodynamic assessment.

Methods: This was an experimental study of 12 fetal sheep that were transferred to an AP system, consisting of a pumpless circuit with umbilical cord connection, at 109-117 days' gestation. The study was designed to collect in-utero and postcannulation measurements in all the animals.

An Artificial Placenta Experimental System in Sheep: Critical Issues for Successful Transition and Survival up to One Week.

Objective: To describe the development of an artificial placenta (AP) system in sheep with learning curve and main bottlenecks to allow survival up to one week.

Methods: A total of 28 fetal sheep were transferred to an AP system at 110-115 days of gestation. The survival goal in the AP system was increased progressively in three consecutive study groups: 1-3 h (n = 8), 4-24 h (n = 10) and 48-168 h (n = 10).

Performance of the INTERGROWTH-21 and World Health Organization fetal growth charts for the detection of small-for-gestational age neonates in Latin America.

Objective: To evaluate the performance of INTERGROWTH-21 (IG-21 ) and World Health Organization (WHO) fetal growth charts to identify small-for-gestational-age (SGA) and fetal growth restriction (FGR) neonates, as well as their specific risks for adverse neonatal outcomes.

Methods: Multicenter cross-sectional study including 67 968 live births from 10 maternity units across four Latin American countries. According to each standard, neonates were classified as SGA and FGR (birth weight <10 and less than third centiles, respectively).

Impact of Preoperative Cervical Length on Pregnancy Outcome in Twin-Twin Transfusion Syndrome.

Objective: To evaluate the impact of preoperative cervical length on pregnancy outcome in monochorionic diamniotic twin pregnancies complicated by twin-twin transfusion syndrome that underwent laser surgery or cord occlusion.

Materials And Methods: Retrospective study of 330 patients stratified by preoperative cervical length (≥25 mm, 16-24 mm,≤15 mm). Maternal characteristics, operative data, and pregnancy outcomes were compared between the cervical length groups as well as between the subgroups of patients with a cervical length≤15 mm according to management (expectant vs.

Death and severe morbidity in isolated periviable small-for-gestational-age fetuses.

Objective: This study aims to predict perinatal death or severe sequelae in isolated small-for-gestational-age fetuses, diagnosed at a periviable gestational age, based on ultrasound and Doppler parameters at diagnosis.

Design: Observational study.

Setting: A tertiary perinatal centre.

Tuberculosis infection and stillbirth in Ethiopia-A prospective cohort study.

Background: Tuberculosis is among the leading causes of death among infectious diseases. Regions with a high incidence of tuberculosis, such as sub-Saharan Africa, are disproportionately burdened by stillbirth and other pregnancy complications. Active tuberculosis increases the risk of pregnancy complications, but the association between latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) and pregnancy outcomes is unknown.

The heart after surviving twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome.

Background: The persistent changes in cardiac structure and function in children who survived twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome remain a matter of concern and controversy. Current fetal echocardiographic parameters and their postnatal evolution can help improve our understanding of the subject.

Objective: To describe the echocardiographic changes of monochorionic fetuses affected by twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome, the recipient and the donor, before and after laser photocoagulation and to determine their evolution in the third trimester and during their first year of life.

Central nervous system biometry in fetuses with and without congenital heart diseases.

Objective: To compare the fetal brain structures assessed in routine sonographic scans during the second and third trimesters in fetuses with and without congenital heart disease (CHD).

Methods: This is a retrospective cross-sectional single-center study. We measured the head circumference (HC), the transversal diameter of the cerebellum (TCD) and the sizes of the cisterna magna (CM), the cavum septi pellucidi (CSP) and the posterior ventricles (PV) between 20 and 41 weeks of gestation.

Cardiovascular effects of intrauterine exposure to maternal HIV and antiretroviral therapy in Ethiopian infants followed from fetal life.

Objective: To assess cardiovascular effects of in-utero HIV and antiretroviral treatment (ART) exposure on offspring of HIV-positive mothers in Ethiopia.

Design: HIV-positive and HIV-negative pregnancies were identified from a prospective cohort of women recruited at their first antenatal care visit in Ethiopia, using a nested case-control design.

Methods: Fetal standard ultrasound and echocardiography were performed at 2237 weeks of pregnancy to assess fetal biometry and cardiac structure.

Left myocardial performance index in monochorionic diamniotic twin pairs complicated by selective fetal growth restriction with abnormal umbilical artery Doppler.

Objective: To evaluate left myocardial performance index (MPI) and its time intervals in monochorionic diamniotic (MCDA) twin pairs complicated by selective fetal growth restriction (sFGR) with abnormal (persistent -type II- or intermittent -type III- absent or reversed end-diastolic flow) umbilical artery Doppler.

Methods: Retrospective study including 16 MCDA twin pairs with sFGR type II, 26 MCDA twin pairs with sFGR type III and 42 gestational age-matched uncomplicated MCDA twin pairs in a single tertiary center. Left isovolumetric contraction time (ICT), ejection time (ET), and isovolumetric relaxation time (IRT) were measured and MPI calculated by conventional Doppler at diagnosis of sFGR.

Have maternal or paternal ages any impact on the prenatal incidence of genomic copy number variants associated with fetal structural anomalies?

The objective of this study was to determine whether maternal or paternal ages have any impact on the prenatal incidence of genomic copy number variants (CNV) in fetuses with structural anomalies. We conducted a non-paired case-control study (1:2 ratio) among pregnancies undergoing chromosomal microarray analysis (CMA) because of fetal ultrasound anomalies, from December 2012 to May 2020. Pregnancies with any pathogenic copy number variant (CNV), either microdeletion or microduplication, were defined as cases.

Cardiac Remodeling and Hypertension in HIV-Uninfected Infants Exposed in utero to Antiretroviral Therapy.

Background: We aimed to assess the postnatal pattern of cardiovascular remodeling associated with intrauterine exposure to maternal HIV and antiretroviral treatment (ART).

Methods: Prospective cohort including 34 HIV-exposed uninfected (HEU) infants and 53 non-HIV-exposed infants were evaluated from fetal life up to 6 months postnatally. A cardiovascular evaluation was performed including echocardiography, blood pressure, and carotid intima media thickness (cIMT) measurement.

Genetic syndromes associated with isolated fetal growth restriction.

Early onset fetal growth restriction (FGR) may be due to impaired placentation, environmental or toxic exposure, congenital infections or genetic abnormalities. Remarkable research, mainly based on retrospective series, has been published on the diverse genetic causes. Those have become more and more relevant with the improvement in the accuracy of the analysis techniques and the rising of breakthrough genomewide methods such as the whole genome sequencing.

Assessment of Radiomics and Deep Learning for the Segmentation of Fetal and Maternal Anatomy in Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Ultrasound.

Recent advances in fetal imaging open the door to enhanced detection of fetal disorders and computer-assisted surgical planning. However, precise segmentation of womb's tissues is challenging due to motion artifacts caused by fetal movements and maternal respiration during acquisition. This work aims to efficiently segment different intrauterine tissues in fetal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and 3D ultrasound (US).

Intrapartum prediction of emergency delivery due to non-reassuring fetal status at 40 weeks' gestation in low-risk pregnancies: contribution of Doppler parameters, maternal history, and intrapartum clinical characteristics.

Objective: To assess the added value of Doppler parameters, maternal history, and intrapartum clinical characteristics for the prediction of emergency delivery due to non-reassuring fetal status in low-risk pregnancies.

Methods: This was a prospective cohort of low-risk pregnancies undergoing ultrasound assessment at 40 weeks' gestation within 7 days of delivery. The main outcome was emergency cesarean section due to non-reassuring fetal status.

Clinical presentation and proteomic signature of patients with TANGO2 mutations.

Transport And Golgi Organization protein 2 (TANGO2) deficiency has recently been identified as a rare metabolic disorder with a distinct clinical and biochemical phenotype of recurrent metabolic crises, hypoglycemia, lactic acidosis, rhabdomyolysis, arrhythmias, and encephalopathy with cognitive decline. We report nine subjects from seven independent families, and we studied muscle histology, respiratory chain enzyme activities in skeletal muscle and proteomic signature of fibroblasts. All nine subjects carried autosomal recessive TANGO2 mutations.

Fetal cardiac remodeling and dysfunction is associated with both preeclampsia and fetal growth restriction.

Background: Preeclampsia and fetal growth restriction share some pathophysiologic features and are both associated with placental insufficiency. Fetal cardiac remodeling has been described extensively in fetal growth restriction, whereas little is known about preeclampsia with a normally grown fetus.

Objective: To describe fetal cardiac structure and function in pregnancies complicated by preeclampsia and/or fetal growth restriction as compared with uncomplicated pregnancies.