Fetal Neural Axis Flashcards
What is the most common neural tube defect?
anencephaly
What is the incidence of aprosencephaly?
1 in 1000 USA pregnancies
4x more often in females
6x more often in caucasians than african americans
How does atelencephaly occur?
caused by failure of closure of neural tube at cranial end
result is absence of cranial vault, complete or partial absence of forebrain, presence of brain stem, midbrain, skull base, facial structures
remnant brain covered by thick membrane called angiomatous stroma or cerebrovasculosa
Clinically, what does anencephaly look like?
high maternal serum alpha fetoprotein levels
What are some causes of aprosencephaly?
meckel-Gruber, chromosomal (T-13, T-18), diabetes, environmental and dietary factors (folic acid), and amniotic band syndrome
Sonographic findings of anencephaly include:
frog face sign
polyhydramnios, coexisting spina bifida and/or cranioarchischisis, cleft lip and palate, hydronephrosis, diaphragmatic hernia, cardiac defects, omphalocele, GI defects, talipes
my also be isolated
What is acrania?
manifests as absence of cranial bones with presence of complete, although abnormal, development of cerebral hemispheres
What are other names for anencephaly?
aprosencephaly and atelencephaly
What is another name for acrania?
exencephaly
When does acrania occur?
beginning of 4th gestational week
mesenchymal tissue fails to migrate and does not allow bone formation over cerebral tissue
What does exencephaly result in?
progresses to anencephaly as brain slowly degenerates as result of exposure to AF
What other anomalies may be associated with acrania?
spinal defects, cleft lip and palate, talipes (cleft foot), cardiac defects, omphalocele, amniotic band syndrome
What is cephalocele?
neural tube defect in which meninges alone or meniges and brain herniate through in calvarium
What is encephalocele?
term used to describe herniation of meninges and brain through defect
What is cranial meningocele?
describes herniation of only meninges
What bones are involved in cephalocele?
involved occipital bone
located in midline (75% of cases)
may also involve parietal, frontal, temporal regions, and other bones of calvarium
Describe the different types of cephaloceles and what they include.
meninges only - meningocele
brian tissue only - encephalocele
meninges and brain tissue - encephalomeningocele
meninges, brain tissue and lateral ventricles - encephalomeningocystocele
How are cephaloceles classified?
according to size of lesion
Describe the different classifications of cephaloceles.
occipital: occur when defect lies between lambdoid suture and foramen magnum
parietal: occur between bregma and lambda
anterior: lie between anterior aspect of ethmoid bone
What further classifications is anterior cephaloceles?
frontal and basal
frontal: always external lesions that occur near root of nose
basal: internal lesions that occur within the nose, pharynx, and orbit
What is the sonographic appearance of a cephalocele?
extracranial mass, which may be fluid filled (cranial meningocele) or contain solid components (encephalocele); a bony defect in skull, ventriculomegaly, polyhydramnios
Coexisting conditions along with cephaloceles includeL
microcephaly, agenesis of corpus callosum, facial clefts, spina bifida, cardiac anomalies, nad genital anomalies
What chromosomal anomalies have been identified with cephaloceles?
trisomy 13 and Meckel Gruber syndrome
What is spina bifida?
means there is a cleft or opening in the spine
Describe spina bifida occulta
when the spinal defect is covered with skin or hair
associated with normal spinal cord and nerves and normal neurologic development
(MSAF level is normal)
What is a menigocele?
when the spinal defect involves only protrusion of meninges
What is meningomyelocele?
when both meninges and neural elements protrude through the spinal defect
What is rachischisis?
when the spinal defect is very large and severe - can be open
What is spina bifida associated with?
varying degrees of neuologic impairment such as minor anesthesia, paraparesis, and death
also associated with Arnold-Chiari type II malformation in fetuses with myelomeningoceles
associated with chromosomal abnormalities including Trisomy 18
What are some sonographic findings of spina bifida?
flattening of frontal bones (lemon sign), obliteration of cisterna magna, inferior displacement of cerebellar vermis (banana sign), ventriculomegaly
What sonographic findings are associated with spina bifida?
club foot, cephaloceles, cleft lip and palate, hypotelorism, heart defects, genitouriniary anomalies
What are maternal risk factors for spina bifida?
maternal diabetes, obesity, hyperthermia, folic acid deficiency, and family history
What are the risks of inutero surfical repair of the type of spina bifida?
premature delivery, maternal death, fetal death
What is Dandy Walker Malformation?
ageneisis or hypoplasia of cerebellar vermis with resulting dilations on fourth ventricle and enlargement of posterior fossa
What are the three main types of posterior fossa malformations?
Dandy Walker Malformation (DWM) with an elevated tentorium Dandy Walker varient (DWV) manifests with cystic dilation of the fourth ventricle and hypoplasia of the cerebellar vermis without an enlarged posterior fossa Megacisterna magna (MCM) is defined as an enlarged cistern magna
When can diagnosis of DWM be made?
not made prior to 18 weeks gestation
because communications between the fourth ventricle and cistern magna not complete intil the 18th week
What other intracranial anomalies are assoiciated with DWM?
agenesis of corpus callosum, aqueductal stenosis, microcephaly, macrocephaly, encephalocele, gyral malformations, heterotopias, and lipomas
What other chromosomal anomalies are associated with DWM?
trisomies 13, 18, 21, and triploidy, Meckel-Gruber, Walker-Warburg, Aicardi
also linked to congenital infections and maternal diabetes
What is the prognosis of DWM?
depends on presence or absence of associated anomalies and on degree of hypoplasia of cerebellar vermis, as correlates with severity of mental retardation
mortality depends highly on other anomalies
many infants have subnormal IQ, some have normal function
What are extracranial anomalies associated with DWM?
cardiac anomalies, polydactyly, facial clefts, urinary tract anomalies
Sonographically, what does DWM look like?
posterior fossa cyst, splaying of cerebellar hemispheres as result of complete or partial agenesis of cerebellar vermis, enlarged cisterna magna caused by cerebellar vermis anomaly and posterior fossa cyst, ventriculomegaly
Differentials for DWM include:
arachnoid cyst, but identification of splayed cerebellar hemisoheres may help to confirm DWM
cerebellar hypoplasia should also be included in the differential diagnosis when cisterna magna enlarged
What are the three forms of holoprosencephaly?
alobar, semilobar, and lobar
identification of specific form depends on degree of failed hemispheric division
What occurs with alobar holoprosenecephaly?
singular monoventricle brain tissue that is small; cup, ball, and pancake configuration; fusion of thalamus; absence of interhemisphereic fissure; absence of CSP; absence of corpus callosum; absence of optic tracts; absence of olfactory bulbs
What occurs with semilobar holoprosencephaly?
singular ventricular cavity with partial formation of occipital horns; partial or complete fusion of thalamus; rudimentary falx and interhemispheric fissure; absent corpus callosum; absent CSP; absent olfactory bulbs