Fetal MRI based brain atlas analysis detects initial in utero effects of prenatal alcohol exposure

© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press..

Prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) can change the normal trajectory of human fetal brain development and may lead to long-lasting neurodevelopmental changes in the form of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders. Currently, early prenatal patterns of alcohol-related central nervous system changes are unclear and it is unknown if small amounts of PAE may result in early detectable brain anomalies. This super-resolution fetal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) study aimed to identify regional effects of PAE on human brain structure. Fetuses were prospectively assessed using atlas-based semi-automated 3-dimensional tissue segmentation based on 1.5 T and 3 T fetal brain MRI examinations. After expectant mothers completed anonymized PRAMS and TACE questionnaires for PAE, fetuses without gross macroscopic brain abnormalities were identified and analyzed. Linear mixed-effects modeling of regional brain volumes was conducted and multiple comparisons were corrected using the Benjamini-Hochberg procedure. In total, 500 pregnant women were recruited with 51 reporting gestational alcohol consumption. After excluding confounding comorbidities, 24 fetuses (26 observations) were identified with PAE and 52 age-matched controls without PAE were analyzed. Patients with PAE showed significantly larger volumes of the corpus callosum (P ≤ 0.001) and smaller volumes of the periventricular zone (P = 0.001). Even minor (1-3 standard drinks per week) PAE changed the neurodevelopmental trajectory.

Medienart:

E-Artikel

Erscheinungsjahr:

2023

Erschienen:

2023

Enthalten in:

Zur Gesamtaufnahme - volume:33

Enthalten in:

Cerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991) - 33(2023), 11 vom: 24. Mai, Seite 6852-6861

Sprache:

Englisch

Beteiligte Personen:

Stuempflen, Marlene [VerfasserIn]
Schwartz, Ernst [VerfasserIn]
Diogo, Mariana C [VerfasserIn]
Glatter, Sarah [VerfasserIn]
Pfeiler, Birgit [VerfasserIn]
Kienast, Patric [VerfasserIn]
Taymourtash, Athena [VerfasserIn]
Schmidbauer, Victor U [VerfasserIn]
Bartha-Doering, Lisa [VerfasserIn]
Krampl-Bettelheim, Elisabeth [VerfasserIn]
Seidl, Rainer [VerfasserIn]
Langs, Georg [VerfasserIn]
Prayer, Daniela [VerfasserIn]
Kasprian, Gregor [VerfasserIn]

Links:

Volltext

Themen:

Brain atlas
Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders
Fetal brain
Journal Article
Magnetic resonance imaging
Prenatal alcohol exposure
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Anmerkungen:

Date Completed 02.06.2023

Date Revised 06.06.2023

published: Print

Citation Status MEDLINE

doi:

10.1093/cercor/bhad005

funding:

Förderinstitution / Projekttitel:

PPN (Katalog-ID):

NLM353137847