Dissemin is shutting down on January 1st, 2025

Published in

Yearbook of Paediatric Endocrinology, 2021

DOI: 10.1530/ey.18.8.12

Oxford University Press, The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 8(105), p. 2575-2586, 2020

DOI: 10.1210/clinem/dgaa340

Links

Tools

Export citation

Search in Google Scholar

First-Trimester Prenatal Dexamethasone Treatment Is Associated With Alterations in Brain Structure at Adult Age

This paper is made freely available by the publisher.
This paper is made freely available by the publisher.

Full text: Download

Green circle
Preprint: archiving allowed
Green circle
Postprint: archiving allowed
Red circle
Published version: archiving forbidden
Data provided by SHERPA/RoMEO

Abstract

Abstract Context Prenatal treatment of human disease is rare. Dexamethasone (DEX) is used in pregnancies at risk for congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) to prevent virilization in an affected female fetus. The safety and long-term consequences of prenatal DEX exposure on the brain are largely unknown. Objective We investigate whether first-trimester prenatal DEX treatment is associated with alterations in brain structure at adult age, and if these alterations are associated with DNA methylation, mood, and cognitive abilities. Design, Setting, and Participants T1-weighted and diffusion-weighted imaging scans, from a single research institute, are compared between 19 (9 women) first-trimester DEX-treated individuals, at risk of CAH but not having CAH, and 43 (26 women) controls (age range, 16.0-26.4 years). Results DEX-treated participants showed bilateral enlargement of the amygdala, increased surface area and volume of the left superior frontal gyrus, and widespread increased radial, mean, and axial diffusivity of white matter, in particular in the superior longitudinal fasciculi and corticospinal tracts. In the DEX-treated group, increased mean and radial diffusivity correlated with increased methylation of the promotor region of the FKBP5 gene. There were no group differences in cognition or in scales assessing depression or anxiety, and the relationship between brain structure and cognition did not differ between DEX-treated and controls. Conclusions First-trimester prenatal DEX treatment is associated with structural alterations of the brain at adult age, with an accompanying change in gene methylation. The findings add to the safety concerns of prenatal DEX treatment in the context of CAH.