Term newborns with congenital heart disease have widespread brain abnormalities before they undergo cardiac surgery. The imaging findings in such newborns are similar to those in premature newborns and may reflect abnormal brain development in utero.

Background Fetal hypoxia has been implicated in the abnormal brain development seen in newborns with congenital heart disease (CHD). New magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technology now offers the potential to investigate the relationship between fetal hemodynamics and brain dysmaturation. Methods and Results We measured fetal brain size, oxygen saturation and blood flow in the major vessels of the fetal circulation in 30 late gestation fetuses with CHD and 30 normal controls using phase contrast MRI and T2 mapping. Fetal hemodynamic parameters were calculated using a combination of MRI flow and oximetry data and fetal hemoglobin concentrations estimated from population averages. In fetuses with CHD, reductions in umbilical vein oxygen content (p<0.001), and failure of the normal streaming of oxygenated blood from the placenta to the ascending aorta were associated with a mean reduction in ascending aortic saturation of 10% (p < 0.001), while cerebral blood flow and cerebral oxygen extraction were no different from controls. This accounted for the mean 15% reduction in cerebral oxygen delivery (p = 0.08) and 32% reduction cerebral VO2 in CHD fetuses (p < 0.001), which were associated with a 13% reduction in fetal brain volume (p < 0.001). Fetal brain size correlated with ascending aortic oxygen saturation and cerebral VO2 (r = 0.37 p = 0.004). Conclusions This study supports a direct link between reduced cerebral oxygenation and impaired brain growth in fetuses with CHD and raises the possibility that in utero brain development could be improved with maternal oxygen therapy.

Objective The major form of MRI-defined white matter injury (WMI) comprises diffuse lesions where the burden of small necrotic foci (microscopic necrosis) is poorly defined. We hypothesized that myelination failure associated with diffuse WMI involves an aberrant injury response linked to arrested pre-oligodendrocyte (preOL) maturation in reactive astrocyte-rich lesions. Methods A retrospective autopsy series (1983–2000) was selected for cases with diffuse WMI and analyzed relative to prospectively-collected contemporary cases (2003–2010). Controls were age and region-matched to address regional variation in preOL maturation. Successive oligodendrocyte stages were analyzed with lineage-specific markers. Microscopic necrosis was quantified with microglial markers. Axon injury markers defined the burden of axonopathy. Extracellular matrix remodelling was defined by detection of hyaluronic acid (HA), an inhibitor of preOL maturation, and the HA receptor, CD44. Results In the contemporary case series, diffuse WMI was accompanied by a significant reduction in the burden of microscopic necrosis and axonopathy. Diffuse astrogliosis extended into the lesion surround with elevated HA and astrocyte-expressed CD44. The total population of OL lineage stages was significantly increased in lesions. This increase coincided with significant expansion of the preOL pool. Interpretation Although these data confirm that microscopic necrosis occurs in contemporary cases, the markedly decreased burden supports that it does not contribute substantially to myelination failure. The primary mechanism of myelination failure involves a disrupted cellular response whereby preOLs fail to differentiate in diffuse astrogliotic lesions. Pre-oligodendrocyte maturation arrest converts chronic WMI to a more immature state related to the burden of astrogliosis.