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Metopic suture in fetuses with holoprosencephaly at 11 + 0 to 13 + 6 weeks of gestation
Author(s) -
Faro C.,
Wegrzyn P.,
Benoit B.,
Chaoui R.,
Nicolaides K. H.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
ultrasound in obstetrics and gynecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.202
H-Index - 141
eISSN - 1469-0705
pISSN - 0960-7692
DOI - 10.1002/uog.2632
Subject(s) - holoprosencephaly , medicine , gestation , fetus , frontal bone , anatomy , gestational age , fibrous joint , pregnancy , skull , biology , genetics
Objective To investigate the development of the metopic suture in fetuses with holoprosencephaly at 11 + 0 to 13 + 6 weeks of gestation. Methods Three‐dimensional (3D) ultrasound was used to measure the height and gap between the frontal bones in 200 normal fetuses and in nine fetuses with holoprosencephaly at 11 + 0 to 13 + 6 (median, 12) weeks of gestation. Results In the 200 normal fetuses, the height of the frontal bones increased significantly with gestation from a mean of 2.5 mm (5 th and 95 th centiles: 1.9 mm and 3.3 mm) at 11 weeks to 6.1 mm (5 th and 95 th centiles: 4.6 mm and 8.1 mm) at 13 + 6 weeks. The gap between the two frontal bones did not change significantly with gestation (mean: 1.5 mm; 5 th centile: 1.0 mm; 95 th centile: 2.0 mm). In fetuses with holoprosencephaly, the height of the frontal bones was significantly larger (mean difference, 5.6 SDs; range, 3.9–7.7 SDs; P < 0.0001) and the gap was significantly smaller (mean 0.2 mm, range 0–0.8 mm; P < 0.0001) than those in normal fetuses. Conclusions Holoprosencephaly is associated with an accelerated development of the frontal bones and premature closure of the metopic suture. Copyright © 2005 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.