Kirsten Ann Donald1, Annerine Roos2, Jean-Paul Fouche3, Nastassja Koen4, Fleur M Howells4, Roger P Woods5, Heather J Zar6, Katherine L Narr5, Dan J Stein2. 1. 1Division of Developmental Paediatrics,Department of Paediatrics and Child Health,Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital and University of Cape Town,Cape Town,South Africa. 2. 2MRC Unit on Anxiety & Stress Disorders,Stellenbosch University,Cape Town,South Africa. 3. 3Department of Human Biology,University of Cape Town and Department of Psychiatry,Stellenbosch University,Cape Town,South Africa. 4. 4Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health,University of Cape Town,Cape Town,South Africa. 5. 5Department of Neurology,University of California,LA,USA. 6. 6Department of Paediatrics and Child Health,Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital and University of Cape Town,Cape Town,South Africa.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Neuroimaging studies have indicated that prenatal alcohol exposure is associated with alterations in the structure of specific brain regions in children. However, the temporal and regional specificity of such changes and their behavioural consequences are less known. Here we explore the integrity of regional white matter microstructure in infants with in utero exposure to alcohol, shortly after birth. METHODS: Twenty-eight alcohol-exposed and 28 healthy unexposed infants were imaged using diffusion tensor imaging sequences to evaluate white matter integrity using validated tract-based spatial statistics analysis methods. Second, diffusion values were extracted for group comparisons by regions of interest. Differences in fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD), axial diffusivity (AD) and radial diffusivity were compared between groups and associations with measures from the Dubowitz neonatal neurobehavioural assessment were examined. RESULTS: Lower AD values (p<0.05) were observed in alcohol-exposed infants in the right superior longitudinal fasciculus compared with non-exposed infants. Altered FA and MD values in alcohol-exposed neonates in the right inferior cerebellar were associated with abnormal neonatal neurobehaviour. CONCLUSION: These exploratory data suggest that prenatal alcohol exposure is associated with reduced white matter microstructural integrity even early in the neonatal period. The association with clinical measures reinforces the likely clinical significance of this finding. The location of the findings is remarkably consistent with previously reported studies of white matter structural deficits in older children with a diagnosis of foetal alcohol spectrum disorders.
BACKGROUND: Neuroimaging studies have indicated that prenatal alcohol exposure is associated with alterations in the structure of specific brain regions in children. However, the temporal and regional specificity of such changes and their behavioural consequences are less known. Here we explore the integrity of regional white matter microstructure in infants with in utero exposure to alcohol, shortly after birth. METHODS: Twenty-eight alcohol-exposed and 28 healthy unexposed infants were imaged using diffusion tensor imaging sequences to evaluate white matter integrity using validated tract-based spatial statistics analysis methods. Second, diffusion values were extracted for group comparisons by regions of interest. Differences in fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD), axial diffusivity (AD) and radial diffusivity were compared between groups and associations with measures from the Dubowitz neonatal neurobehavioural assessment were examined. RESULTS: Lower AD values (p<0.05) were observed in alcohol-exposed infants in the right superior longitudinal fasciculus compared with non-exposed infants. Altered FA and MD values in alcohol-exposed neonates in the right inferior cerebellar were associated with abnormal neonatal neurobehaviour. CONCLUSION: These exploratory data suggest that prenatal alcohol exposure is associated with reduced white matter microstructural integrity even early in the neonatal period. The association with clinical measures reinforces the likely clinical significance of this finding. The location of the findings is remarkably consistent with previously reported studies of white matter structural deficits in older children with a diagnosis of foetal alcohol spectrum disorders.
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Authors: Kirsten A Donald; Jonathan C Ipser; Fleur M Howells; Annerine Roos; Jean-Paul Fouche; Edward P Riley; Nastassja Koen; Roger P Woods; Bharat Biswal; Heather J Zar; Katherine L Narr; Dan J Stein Journal: Alcohol Clin Exp Res Date: 2016-01 Impact factor: 3.455
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Authors: Kirsten A Donald; J P Fouche; Annerine Roos; Nastassja Koen; Fleur M Howells; Edward P Riley; Roger P Woods; Heather J Zar; Katherine L Narr; Dan J Stein Journal: Metab Brain Dis Date: 2015-11-29 Impact factor: 3.584
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