Characterisation of ASD traits among a cohort of children with isolated fetal ventriculomegaly

Vanessa Kyriakopoulou (), Alice Davidson, Andrew Chew, Nidhi Gupta, Tomoki Arichi, Chiara Nosarti and Mary A. Rutherford
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Vanessa Kyriakopoulou: King’s College London
Alice Davidson: King’s College London
Andrew Chew: King’s College London
Nidhi Gupta: King’s College London
Tomoki Arichi: King’s College London
Chiara Nosarti: King’s College London
Mary A. Rutherford: King’s College London

Nature Communications, 2023, vol. 14, issue 1, 1-10

Abstract: Abstract Fetal ventriculomegaly is the most common antenatally-diagnosed brain abnormality. Imaging studies in antenatal isolated ventriculomegaly demonstrate enlarged ventricles and cortical overgrowth which are also present in children with autism-spectrum disorder/condition (ASD). We investigate the presence of ASD traits in a cohort of children (n = 24 [20 males/4 females]) with isolated fetal ventriculomegaly, compared with 10 controls (n = 10 [6 males/4 females]). Neurodevelopmental outcome at school age included IQ, ASD traits (ADOS-2), sustained attention, neurological functioning, behaviour, executive function, sensory processing, co-ordination, and adaptive behaviours. Pre-school language development was assessed at 2 years. 37.5% of children, all male, in the ventriculomegaly cohort scored above threshold for autism/ASD classification. Pre-school language delay predicted an ADOS-2 autism/ASD classification with 73.3% specificity/66.7% sensitivity. Greater pre-school language delay was associated with more ASD symptoms. In this study, the neurodevelopment of children with isolated fetal ventriculomegaly, associated with altered cortical development, includes ASD traits, difficulties in sustained attention, working memory and sensation-seeking behaviours.

Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-37242-0

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