RT Journal
A1 van der Plas E, Conrad A, Canady J, Richman L, Nopoulos P
T1 EFfects of unilateral clefts on brain structure
JF Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine
JO Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine
YR 2010
FD August 1
VO 164
IS 8
SP 763
OP 768
DO 10.1001/archpediatrics.2010.123
UL http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/archpediatrics.2010.123
AB Objective 
    To evaluate potential abnormalities in brain structure of children and adolescents with unilateral clefts.Design 
    Case-control study.Setting 
    Tertiary care center.Participants 
    Boys aged 7 to 17 years with right (n = 14) and left (n = 19) clefts were compared with healthy age-matched boys (n = 57).Main Exposures 
    Structural brain measures were obtained using magnetic resonance imaging.Outcome Measure 
    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.