Fetal hydrocephalus. II. Amelioration of fetal porencephaly by in utero therapy in nonhuman primates.

The postnatal course of a form of infantile porencephaly under pressure in monkeys was evaluated by comparing brain development between animals that had received the hydrocephalic antenatal vent for intrauterine treatment and those that had not been treated antenatally. Brain development was assessed by computed tomographic scans. The studies showed asymmetric malformations and associated porencephalic lesions in infant monkeys not treated in utero, despite installation of a conventional postnatal ventriculoperitoneal shunt. In contrast, apparently normal development of brain tissue in infants given intrauterine therapy was observed.