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Intracranial volume and whole brain volume in infants with unicoronal craniosynostosis

Cheryl A Hill, S Vaddi, Amanda Moffitt

    The Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Journal : Official Publication of the American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association
    |September 7, 2010
    PubMed

    Insights

    Infants with unilateral coronal synostosis do not have reduced brain or intracranial volume compared to unaffected infants. This suggests other factors, not reduced volume, may cause brain alterations in craniosynostosis.

    Area of Science:

    • Pediatric Neurosurgery
    • Developmental Biology
    • Medical Imaging

    Background:

    • Craniosynostosis, premature fusion of skull sutures, may impact brain development due to restricted intracranial volume.
    • Previous hypotheses suggest reduced intracranial volume in craniosynostosis could lead to cognitive deficits.
    • Unilateral coronal synostosis is a specific type of craniosynostosis affecting skull growth.

    Purpose of the Study:

    • To investigate if infants with right unilateral coronal synostosis exhibit differences in intracranial and whole brain volume compared to unaffected infants.
    • To test the hypothesis that reduced intracranial volume is a primary factor in brain alterations associated with craniosynostosis.
    • To analyze the relationship between age and cranial volume measurements in affected and unaffected infants.

    Main Methods:

    • Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data from 10 infants with right unilateral coronal synostosis and 10 age-matched controls were analyzed.
    • Cranial volume measurements were obtained using Analyze 9.0 software.
    • Nonparametric tests and correlation analyses were used to compare volume measures and growth trajectories between groups.

    Main Results:

    • Infants with right unilateral coronal synostosis did not show reduced intracranial or whole brain volume compared to unaffected infants.
    • Correlation analyses revealed similar relationships between age and volume measures in both groups.
    • The growth trajectory of cranial volumes did not significantly differ between infants with and without unilateral coronal synostosis.

    Conclusions:

    • The brain and intracranial size relationship in infants with right unilateral coronal synostosis is comparable to unaffected children.
    • Reduced intracranial volume is unlikely to be the sole cause of brain alterations observed in craniosynostosis.
    • Findings suggest alternative mechanisms may underlie brain development changes in craniosynostosis.
    Abstract

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