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Updated: Sep 5, 2025
A Pipeline to Characterize Structural Heart Defects in the Fetal Mouse
Published on: December 16, 2022
Evaluation of Intracranial Structures of Fetuses With Congenital Heart Defects
Ezgi Turgut1, Halis Özdemir1, Gokce Turan1
1School of Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Gazi University, Ankara, Turkey.
Insights
Congenital heart defects (CHDs) impact fetal brain development, with reduced oxygenation leading to more pronounced structural changes. Specific defects like single ventricle (SV) and transposition of great arteries (TGA) show significant alterations.
Area of Science:
- Fetal medicine
- Pediatric cardiology
- Neuroimaging
Background:
- Congenital heart defects (CHDs) are common birth anomalies.
- Cerebral blood flow and oxygenation are critical for fetal brain development.
- Understanding the impact of CHDs on brain structure is essential for prenatal care.
Purpose of the Study:
- To classify CHDs based on cerebral blood flow oxygenation.
- To evaluate the effect of CHDs on fetal brain structure size.
- To identify specific CHD types associated with significant brain alterations.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective study design.
- Inclusion of 28 fetuses with CHDs and 76 controls.
- Analysis of fetal brain structure dimensions and z-scores.
Main Results:
- Increased cavum septum pellucidum width and length in the CHD group.
- Lower biparietal diameter and head circumference (HC) in single ventricle (SV) and transposition of great arteries (TGA) fetuses.
- Reduced transverse cerebellar diameter, cerebellar HC, and cerebellar hemisphere area in SV fetuses.
Conclusions:
- Brain structure alterations in fetuses with CHDs are linked to cerebral oxygenation levels.
- SV and TGA are associated with more pronounced brain structure changes.
- These findings highlight the neurodevelopmental risks associated with specific CHDs.
Objectives:
We classified congenital heart defects (CHDs) according to cerebral blood flow oxygenation and aimed to evaluate the effect on the size of brain structures in these fetuses.
Methods:
The study which was designed retrospectively, included 28 patients with fetal CHDs and 76 patients without fetal anomalies.
Results:
The width and length of the cavum septum pellucidum significantly increased in the CHD group (P = .002, P = .004). The biparietal diameter and z scores were significantly lower in the single ventricle (SV) (P = .006, P = .019), and the head circumference (HC) and z scores were significantly lower in the transposition of great arteries (TGA) (P = .013, P = .038). The transverse cerebellar diameter, the cerebellar HC and the cerebellar hemisphere area values were lower in the SV (P = .005, P = .017, P = .044).
Conclusions:
Brain structure changes are more pronounced in groups with low cerebral oxygenation, especially in the SV and the TGA.
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