Placental hypoplasia and vascular malperfusion are associated with reduced brain volumes in fetal congenital heart disease
Placental vascular malperfusion is associated with reduced fetal intracranial volume. Placental hypoplasia (weight <10th %ile) is associated with smaller intracranial volumes in fetal congenital heart disease. Placental pathologies uniquely affect in-utero brain development in congenital heart disease. This study is the first to link fetal brain development to specific placental pathologies using standardized, reproducible criteria (Amsterdam) with comparative inclusion of a non-congenital heart disease cohort. Evidence builds that the in-utero environment impacts neurodevelopment in congenital heart disease; this study points to specific placental lesions that may mediate the pathophysiology underlying these observations.
Authors
- Melissa L. Wilson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7785-4221)
- Nhu Tran (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3429-6415)
- Rafael Ceschin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3715-9627)
- Claire Baldauf (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8888-1476)
- Paul Zamiara
- Jessica L. Wisnowski (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4039-8362)
- Shuo Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9104-9798)
- Jodie Votava-Smith
- Valeria Rosas
- Vidya Rajagopalan
- William T. Reynolds
Institutions
- University of Southern California (US)
- Children's Hospital of Los Angeles (US)
- University of Pittsburgh (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Pediatric Research
- Published
- 2026-01-07
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41390-025-04698-3
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Congenital Heart Disease Studies
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 31.52
Funders
- Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
- University of Pittsburgh
- Magee-Womens Research Institute
- Additional Ventures
- National Institutes of Health