Altered white matter connectivity in children with congenital heart disease with single ventricle physiology

• Published in: Scientific reports Vol. 13; no. 1; p. 1318
• Main Authors: Williamson, Brady J., Barnes-Davis, Maria E., Vannest, Jennifer, Anixt, Julia S., Heydarian, Haleh C., Kuan, Lisa, Laue, Cameron S., Pratap, Jayant, Schapiro, Mark, Tseng, Stephanie Y., Kadis, Darren S.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 24-01-2023; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 631/443/376; 692/4019; 692/617; Cardiovascular disease; Cardiovascular diseases; Child; Children; Cognitive ability; Congenital diseases; Fontan Procedure; Heart Defects, Congenital - pathology; Heart diseases; Heart surgery; Humanities and Social Sciences; Humans; Ischemia; Medical innovations; multidisciplinary; Neural networks; Palliation; Physiology; Risk factors; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Substantia alba; Topology; Ventricle; White Matter - pathology
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-28634-9

Children born with congenital heart disease (CHD) have seen a dramatic decrease in mortality thanks to surgical innovations. However, there are numerous risk factors associated with CHD that can disrupt neurodevelopment. Recent studies have found that psychological deficits and structural brain abnormalities persist into adulthood. The goal of the current study was to investigate white matter connectivity in early school-age children (6–11 years), born with complex cyanotic CHD (single ventricle physiology), who have undergone Fontan palliation, compared to a group of heart-healthy, typically developing controls (TPC). Additionally, we investigated associations between white matter tract connectivity and measures on a comprehensive neuropsychological battery within each group. Our results suggest CHD patients exhibit widespread decreases in white matter connectivity, and the extent of these decreases is related to performance in several cognitive domains. Analysis of network topology showed that hub distribution was more extensive and bilateral in the TPC group. Our results are consistent with previous studies suggesting perinatal ischemia leads to white matter lesions and delayed maturation.