ArticleUltrasound in obstetrics & gynecology : the official journal of the International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology2022
Fetal neurosonography and infant neurobehavior following conception by assisted reproductive technology with fresh or frozen embryo transfer.
Article in Ultrasound in obstetrics & gynecology : the official journal of the International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.
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6 citing papers in PubMed, 15 citations in OpenAlex.
- Sex-dimorphic reprogramming of fetal mouse brain development by maternal estradiol excess.Biology of sex differences · 2025Article
- Advancements in Artificial Intelligence for Fetal Neurosonography: A Comprehensive Review.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Review
- Fetal cortical development and neurosonographic findings in obese pregnant women: a case control study from a tertiary hospital.Archives of gynecology and obstetrics · 2024Article
- Effects of umbilical vein flow on midbrain growth and cortical development in late onset fetal growth restricted fetuses: a prospective cross-sectional study.Journal of perinatal medicine · 2024Article
- Modeling fetal cortical development by quantile regression for gestational age and head circumference: a prospective cross sectional study.Journal of perinatal medicine · 2023Article
- Association of Maternal Mild Hypothyroidism With Offspring Neurodevelopment in TPOAb-Negative Women: A Prospective Cohort Study.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2022Article
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Authors and funding
11 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
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No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveWe aimed to explore fetal cortical brain development by neurosonography in fetuses conceived by assisted reproductive technology (ART), including frozen and fresh embryo transfer (ET), compared with those conceived spontaneously (SC), and to investigate its association with infant neurobehavior at 12 months of age.
methodsThis was a prospective cohort study of 210 singleton pregnancies, including 70 SC pregnancies, 70 conceived by in-vitro fertilization (IVF) following frozen ET and 70 conceived by IVF after fresh ET. Fetal neurosonography was performed at 32 ± 2 gestational weeks to assess cortical development. Sulci depths were measured offline and normalized by biparietal diameter (BPD). Ages and Stages Questionnaires (ASQ) were completed postnatally, at 12 ± 1 months of corrected age. Neurosonographic findings were adjusted by regression analysis for maternal age, ethnicity, parity, fetal sex and fetal-weight centile and gestational age at scan, and ASQ scores were adjusted for maternal age, ethnicity, parity, educational level and employment status, gestational age at birth, breastfeeding, infant sex and infant age at the ASQ evaluation.
resultsOverall, in comparison to the SC fetuses, fetuses conceived by ART showed statistically significant differences in cortical development, with reduced parieto-occipital sulci depth adjusted for BPD (mean ± SD: fresh ET, 12.5 ± 2.5 vs frozen ET, 13.4 ± 2.6 vs SC, 13.4 ± 2.6, P < 0.001), cingulate sulci depth adjusted for BPD (median (interquartile range (IQR)): fresh ET, 5.8 (4.2-7.4) vs frozen ET, 5.8 (4.1-7.5) vs SC, 6.5 (4.8-7.8), P = 0.001) and calcarine sulci depth adjusted for BPD (median (IQR): fresh ET, 13.5 (10.1-16.1) vs frozen ET, 14.5 (12.1-15.8) vs SC, 16.4 (14.3-17.9), P < 0.001), together with lower Sylvian fissure grading score. Changes in cortical development were more pronounced in the fresh ET than in the frozen ET group. ART infants showed lower ASQ scores as compared to SC infants, particularly in the fresh ET group (mean ± SD global ASQ Z-score: fresh ET, -0.3 ± 0.4 vs frozen ET, -0.2 ± 0.4 vs SC, 0 ± 0.4, P < 0.001).
conclusionsFetuses conceived by ART show a distinctive pattern of cortical development and suboptimal infant neurodevelopment, with more pronounced changes in those conceived following fresh ET. These findings support the existence of in-utero brain reorganization associated with ART and warrant follow-up studies to assess its long-term persistence. © 2022 The Authors. Ultrasound in Obstetrics & Gynecology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology.
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