Assessment of the development of the central nervous system in fetuses with fetal growth restriction.

Objectives: To evaluate the development of the central nervous system in fetuses with fetal Growth Restriction.

Methods: A total of 146 pregnant women who underwent prenatal ultrasonography in Cangzhou People's Hospital from January 2022 to May 2024 were selected, all with singleton pregnancies. Among them, 73 fetuses were in the fetal growth restriction group, with ages ranging from 20 to 33 + 6 weeks. The indicators for evaluating the cerebral sulci included the depth and angle of the parietooccipital sulci, the width and depth of the sylvian fissure, the width of the uncovered insula, uncover insular ratio, the depth of the calcarine sulci, and the head circumference. The hemodynamic indicators comprised the ratio of the umbilical artery resistance index, the umbilical artery pulse index, the middle cerebral artery resistance index, the middle cerebral artery pulse index, and the cerebral placental blood flow pulse index. The above parameters were analyzed statistically.

Results: In this study, the depth of the parietooccipital sulci, the depth of the calcarine sulci, and the width of the sylvian fissure were smaller in the fetal growth restriction group than those in the control group, and the angle of the parietooccipital sulci and the width of the uncovered insula were larger than those in the control group (all P < 0.05). The fetal middle cerebral artery resistance index, middle cerebral artery pulsation index and cerebroplacental pulsation ratio in the FGR group were lower than those in the control group (all P < 0.05).

Conclusions: The development of the cerebral cortex in FGR fetuses is slower than that in normal fetuses, and the alteration of fetal hemodynamics might be one of the reasons for the delayed development of the cerebral cortex in FGR fetuses.