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Alice Davidson

Possible papers associated with this exact author name in Arrow. This page groups case-insensitive exact name matches and is not a full identity disambiguation profile.

2 papers

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YNICL Journal 2021 Journal Article

Brain volumetry in fetuses that deliver very preterm: An MRI pilot study

Lisa Story
Alice Davidson
Prachi Patkee
Bobbi Fleiss
Vanessa Kyriakopoulou
Kathleen Colford
Srividhya Sankaran
Paul Seed

BACKGROUND: Infants born preterm are at increased risk of neurological complications resulting in significant morbidity and mortality. The exact mechanism and the impact of antenatal factors has not been fully elucidated, although antenatal infection/inflammation has been implicated in both the aetiology of preterm birth and subsequent neurological sequelae. It is therefore hypothesized that processes driving preterm birth are affecting brain development in utero. This study aims to compare MRI derived regional brain volumes in fetuses that deliver 37 weeks were included. Median gestation at MRI of the preterm group was 26.8 weeks (range 19.4-31.4) and control group 26.2 weeks (range 21.7-31.9). No difference was found in supra-tentorial brain volume, ventricular volume or cerebellar volume but the eCSF and cerebral cortex volumes were smaller in fetuses that delivered preterm (p < 0.001 in both cases). CONCLUSION: Fetuses that deliver preterm have a reduction in cortical and eCSF volumes. This is a novel finding and needs further investigation. If alterations in brain development are commencing antenatally in fetuses that subsequently deliver preterm, this may present a window for in utero therapy in the future.

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YNICL Journal 2020 Journal Article

Early alterations in cortical and cerebellar regional brain growth in Down Syndrome: An in vivo fetal and neonatal MRI assessment

Prachi A. Patkee
Ana A. Baburamani
Vanessa Kyriakopoulou
Alice Davidson
Elhaam Avini
Ralica Dimitrova
Joanna Allsop
Emer Hughes

Down Syndrome (DS) is the most frequent genetic cause of intellectual disability with a wide spectrum of neurodevelopmental outcomes. At present, the relationship between structural brain morphology and the spectrum of cognitive phenotypes in DS, is not well understood. This study aimed to quantify the development of the fetal and neonatal brain in DS participants, with and without a congenital cardiac defect compared with a control population using dedicated, optimised and motion-corrected in vivo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). We detected deviations in development and altered regional brain growth in the fetus with DS from 21 weeks' gestation, when compared to age-matched controls. Reduced cerebellar volume was apparent in the second trimester with significant alteration in cortical growth becoming evident during the third trimester. Developmental abnormalities in the cortex and cerebellum are likely substrates for later neurocognitive impairment, and ongoing studies will allow us to confirm the role of antenatal MRI as an early biomarker for subsequent cognitive ability in DS. In the era of rapidly developing technologies, we believe that the results of this study will assist counselling for prospective parents.

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