title: Effects of unilateral clefts on brain structure.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate potential abnormalities in brain structure of children and adolescents with unilateral clefts.
  
  
  METHODS
  Case-control study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Tertiary care center.
  
  
  METHODS
  Boys aged 7 to 17 years with right (n=14) and left (n=19) clefts were compared with healthy age-matched boys (n=57).
  
  
  METHODS
  Structural brain measures were obtained using magnetic resonance imaging.
  
  
  METHODS
  It was explored whether laterality of clefts had a significant effect on brain structure. To this end, volumes of tissue types and various brain regions were evaluated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Total white matter was significantly lower in boys with right clefts compared with boys with left clefts and healthy boys. Gross regional analyses demonstrated that reductions in white matter were evident in both the cerebellum and the cerebrum in boys with right clefts. Furthermore, within the cerebrum, white matter volumes were particularly low in the frontal lobes and the occipital lobes.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These preliminary results suggest that right clefts may be associated with more abnormalities in brain structure. More generally, laterality of a birth defect may have a significant effect on a developing organism.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Iowa Hospital and Clinics, 200 Hawkins Dr, W278 GH, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA. ellen-vanderplas@uiowa.edu
authors.forename: Ellen
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: van der Plas
authors.forename: Amy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Conrad
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Canady
authors.forename: Lynn
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Richman
authors.forename: Peg
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Nopoulos
mesh_terms: D000015:Abnormalities, Multiple / Q000175:diagnosis*; D000293:Adolescent; D001921:Brain / Q000002:abnormalities*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002971:Cleft Lip / Q000150:complications*; D002972:Cleft Palate / Q000150:complications*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male