Longitudinal assessment of abnormal cortical folding in fetuses and neonates with isolated non-severe ventriculomegaly

Abstract

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. However, there is a lack of longitudinal studies that study this relationship from fetuses to neonates. Method: We used a longitudinal dataset of 30 subjects (15 healthy controls and 15 subjects diagnosed with isolated non-severe VM (INSVM)) with structural MRI acquired in and ex utero for each subject. We focused on the impact of fetal INSVM on cortical development from a longitudinal perspective, from the fetal to the neonatal stage. Particularly, we examined the relationship between ventricular enlargement and both volumetric features and a multifaceted set of cortical folding measures, including local gyrification, sulcal depth, curvature, and cortical thickness. Findings: Our results show significant effects of isolated non-severe VM (INSVM) compared to healthy controls, with reduced cortical thickness in specific brain regions such as the occipital, parietal, and frontal lobes. Conclusion: These findings align with existing literature, confirming the presence of alterations in cortical growth and folding in subjects with isolated non-severe VM (INSVM) from the fetal to neonatal stage compared to controls.

This research leading to these results was partially funded by the Erasmus + Program of the European Union (Framework Agreement number: 2013-0040), Instituto de Salud Carlos III (PI16/00861) integrados en el Plan Nacional de I+D+I y cofinanciados por el ISCIII-Subdirección General de Evaluación y el Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER) 'Una manera de hacer Europa', AGAUR 2017 SGR grant n 1531, and The Cerebra Foundation for the Brain-Injured Child, Carmarthen, Wales. This publication is part of the project PCI2021-122044-2A, funded by the project ERA-NET NEURON Cofund2, by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033/, ISCIII AC21 2/00016, and by the European Union 'NextGenerationEU'/PRTR. Andrea Urru has received the support of a fellowship from 'la Caixa' Foundation under grant No. LCF/BQ/DI17/11620069. Gemma Piella was supported by ICREA under the ICREA Academia programme. Elisenda Eixarch has received funding from the Departament de Salut under grant SLT008/18/00156 and Convocatòria Intensificació Interna per als professionals de l'Hospital Clínic de Barcelona 2023, granted by Hospital Clínic de Barcelona.