Influence of isolated fetal ventriculomegaly on brain parenchymal volume and neurodevelopment
LIN Hao-sheng
HUANG Chan-tao
QIU Yu-wen
XIE Wei
ZHU Wen-qian
SHEN Wei
HUANG Qi-tao
CHANG Qing-xian
Abstract：Objective To explore the cranial development of normal fetuses and those with isolated lateral ventriculomegaly,and the impact of isolated lateral ventriculomegaly on fetal neurological development.Methods Clinical data were collected from 79 cases of isolated fetal lateral ventriculomegaly in women with singleton pregnancies who visited the Prenatal Diagnosis Center of Nanfang Hospital,Southern Medical University,from 2017 to 2023.A control group of 60 normal pregnant women who underwent prenatal examination at the same hospital during the same period was selected.According to the degree of ventriculomegaly,they were divided into mild group(lateral ventricle width being 10.0 to 12.0mm),moderate group(from 12.0 to 15.0mm),and severe group(≥ 15.0mm).Fetal brain MRI images were manually segmented by the medical image analysis software ITK-SNAP,and the fetal intracranial tissues,including lateral ventricles,cerebral parenchyma and cerebral hemispheres,were reconstructed in three dimensions.The volume changes of various anatomical structures of the fetal brain were calculated to quantitatively evaluate the potential impact of ventriculomegaly on brain parenchymal volume.The Bayley Scales of Infant Development(BSID)was used to assess the neurodevelopment of infants with isolated ventriculomegaly after birth.Results The volume of dilated lateral brain parenchyma and the volume of cerebral hemispheres during pregnancy in fetuses with isolated ventriculomegaly were greater than those in normal fetuses[(109.6±8.6)cm3 vs.(100.5±7.5)cm3,(131.5±11.1)cm3 vs.(127.3±9.3)cm3,P＜0.05],the thickness of dilated lateral brain parenchyma was smaller than the normal fetuses[(10.3±2.3)mm vs.(15.1±2.3)mm,P＜0.05].The fetuses with abnormal postnatal neurological development had larger lateral ventricular volumes and brain parenchymal volumes during the prenatal period compared to those with normal neurological development[(16.9±2.6)cm3 vs.(14.6±1.9)cm3,(115.3±11.1)cm3 vs.(108.4±7.6)cm3,P＜0.05],and the differences were statistically significant.Conclusion Isolated lateral ventriculomegaly affects the volume of brain parenchyma,and infants with larger lateral ventricular volume and brain parenchymal volume are at higher risk of abnormal neurodevelopment.
Keywords：isolated ventriculomegalymagnetic resonance imagingcerebral parenchymal volumelateral ventricular volume
Publication Date：2025-03-02
Online Publishing Date：2025-08-15(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：4( 365-368 )