Assessment of the Central Nervous System in Children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) Using Magnetic Resonance (MR) Techniques

Abstract

The study aimed to assess central nervous systems in children diagnosed with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD), using the techniques of magnetic resonance (MRI). The analyses considered 200 children, both female and male, aged 6–17 years, diagnosed with FASD, as well as 32 healthy children of both sexes, aged 6–16 years. Brain anomalies as well as linear and surface area measurements of the brain and corpus callosum were assessed. 1H MRS and DWI signals were evaluated in the frontal lobes, basal ganglia, hippocampi, and cerebellum. Several brain anomalies were found in children with FASD. Qualitative assessment showed the thinning of the corpus callosum in 40% of the cases and cerebral ventricular asymmetry in 32% of the children. The mean thickness of the corpus callosum isthmus and the mean length of the corpus callosum were statistically lower in children with FASD. Higher Lip/Cr concentration and DWI values as well as lower NAA/Cr, Cho/Cr, and mI/Cr concentrations were found in multiple studied brain regions. The analysis of the present findings in the study group showed that brain MRI examinations of children with FASD more often identified a decreased corpus callosum and 1H MRS and DWI abnormalities, particularly in the region of basal ganglia.

Keywords

• brain
• corpus callosum
• diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DWI)
• Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD)
• magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
• proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H MRS)