title: Brain morphology alterations in the basal ganglia and the hypothalamus following prenatal exposure to antiepileptic drugs.
abstract: If humans are exposed prenatally to antiepileptic drugs (AEDs), cognitive impairment may be the consequence. Driven by results of experimental work showing that AEDs may induce neuronal death in the developing rodent brain, we wanted to explore whether prenatal exposure to AEDs (PAE) may result in structural changes in the human brain. For this purpose we investigated a group of healthy young adults with PAE and a group of age-matched unexposed healthy controls by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain. Local differences in cerebral morphology associated with PAE were analysed in volumetric MRI data by use of voxelwise comparisons of grey and white matter images. Significant regional decreases of grey matter volumes were found in PAE subjects in the area of the lentiform nucleus, including both pallidum and putamen bilaterally, and the hypothalamus. No significant regional differences in white matter volumes were found. We conclude that PAE causes subtle morphological changes in grey matter of the human brain which are conform with lower cell numbers in the basal ganglia and the hypothalamus.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Neurology, Medical Faculty Carl Gustav Carus, Technical University Dresden, Fetscherstrasse 74, 01307 Dresden, Germany. hrissanthi.ikonomidou@uniklinikum-dresden.de
authors.forename: Chrysanthy
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ikonomidou
authors.forename: Ianina
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Scheer
authors.forename: Tabea
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wilhelm
authors.forename: Freimut D
authors.initials: FD
authors.lastname: Juengling
authors.forename: Karl
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Titze
authors.forename: Brigitte
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Stöver
authors.forename: Ulrike
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Lehmkuhl
authors.forename: Sabine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Koch
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kassubek
mesh_terms: D000927:Anticonvulsants / Q000009:adverse effects*; D001479:Basal Ganglia / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007031:Hypothalamus / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000473:pathology*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects / Q000473:pathology*
chemical_list: D000927:Anticonvulsants