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Observational Study
. 2017 Dec;37(12):1278-1284.
doi: 10.1038/jp.2017.129. Epub 2017 Aug 24.

In vivo assessment of placental and brain volumes in growth-restricted fetuses with and without fetal Doppler changes using quantitative 3D MRI

N Andescavage  1   2 , A duPlessis  2   3 , M Metzler  3 , D Bulas  4   5 , G Vezina  4   5 , M Jacobs  6 , S N Iqbal  7 , A Baschat  8 , C Limperopoulos  2   3   4   5
Affiliations
Observational Study

In vivo assessment of placental and brain volumes in growth-restricted fetuses with and without fetal Doppler changes using quantitative 3D MRI

N Andescavage et al. J Perinatol. 2017 Dec.

Abstract

Objective: The relationship between placental and fetal brain growth is poorly understood and difficult to assess. The objective of this study was to interrogate placental and fetal brain growth in healthy pregnancies and those complicated by fetal growth restriction (FGR).

Study design: In a prospective, observational study, pregnant women with normal pregnancies or pregnancies complicated by FGR underwent fetal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Placental, global and regional brain volumes were calculated.

Results: A total of 114 women (79 controls and 35 FGR) underwent MRI (median gestational age (GA) 30 weeks, range 18 to 39). All measured volumes increased exponentially with advancing GA. Placental, total brain, cerebral and cerebellar volumes were smaller in FGR compared with controls (P<0.05). Increasing placental volume was associated with increasing cerebral and cerebellar volumes (P<0.05).

Conclusion: Quantitative fetal MRI can accurately detect decreased placental and brain volumes in pregnancies with FGR and may provide insight into the timing and mechanisms of brain injury in FGR.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of interest:

The authors have no financial interest or conflicts of interest to disclose.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Axial T2-weighted image of the maternal abdomen (1A) and with placental mask in grey (1B) at 25 weeks gestation.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Placental volume, in cm3, increases with advancing gestational age for both populations, however overall placental size is smaller in FGR. Healthy control pregnancies are represented by open diamonds, and pregnancies complicated by FGR are denoted by closed squares.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Median placental volume (corrected for gestational age) in healthy controls and FGR pregnancies, demonstrates significantly smaller volumes in FGR compared to controls.
Figure 4
Figure 4
The association of placental volume (in cm3) to global (A) and regional (B–C) brain volumes (in cm3) in all pregnancies, adjusted for gestational age at MRI. Increasing placental volume was associated with increasing total brain (A), cerebral (B) and cerebellar (C) volumes, but not brainstem (D).
Figure 5
Figure 5
The total brain volume (in cm3) was smaller in FGR compared to controls, however the relationship between placental volume (in cm3) to total brain volume was not statistically different in FGR compared to controls. Healthy control pregnancies are represented by diamonds, FGR by squares.
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