title: The significance of fetal ventriculomegaly: etiology, short- and long-term outcomes.
abstract: Fetal cerebral ventriculomegaly (VM) is diagnosed when the width of one or both ventricles, measured at the level of the glomus of the choroid plexus (atrium), is > or = 10 mm. VM can result from different processes: abnormal turnover of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), neuronal migration disorders, and destructive processes. In a high percentage of cases, it is associated with structural malformations of the central nervous system (CNS), but also of other organs and systems. The rate of associated malformations is higher (> or =60%) in severe VM (>15 mm) and lower (10-50%) in cases of borderline VM (10-15 mm). When malformations are not present, aneuploidies are found in 3-15% of borderline VM; the percentage is lower in severe VM. The neurodevelopmental outcome of isolated VM is normal in > 90% of cases if the measurement of ventricular width is between 10 and 12 mm; it is less favorable when the measurement is > 12 mm.
authors.affiliation: Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy.
authors.forename: Pietro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gaglioti
authors.forename: Manuela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Oberto
authors.forename: Tullia
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Todros
mesh_terms: D000782:Aneuploidy; D002552:Cerebral Ventricles / Q000002:abnormalities* / Q000196:embryology*; D002555:Cerebrospinal Fluid / Q000502:physiology; D005189:False Positive Reactions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D054081:Malformations of Cortical Development, Group II / Q000150:complications; D011247:Pregnancy; D011379:Prognosis; D016216:Ultrasonography, Prenatal