Brainstem and cerebellar volumes at magnetic resonance imaging are smaller in fetuses with congenital heart disease

Abstract

The volume of the infratentorial brain, which contains structures considered crucial to brain function, is significantly smaller in fetuses with congenital heart disease than in controls from midgestation onward. These findings suggest that impaired growth of both supra- and infratentorial brain structures in fetuses with congenital heart disease occurs in the second trimester. Further research is needed to elucidate associations between fetal brain volumes and neurodevelopmental outcomes in congenital heart disease.