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Evaluation of the Significance of MRI in the Prenatal Diagnosis of Neural Tube Defects

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Abstract

Purpose

Congenital anomalies, also known as birth defects have been the primary focus of a number of studies globally. Our primary objective is to evaluate the significance of MRI in the prenatal diagnosis of congenital central nervous system (CNS) anomalies and explore the role of autopsy techniques in the postnatal phase as a verification tool. Additionally, we are focused on proving the MRI-specific diagnostic capabilities in comparison to the current gold standard based on autopsy.

Methods

The study is based on a thorough analysis of incidences of congenital CNS anomalies in four women and their foetuses. Primary in-vivo MRI diagnostics and subsequent verification via autopsy (postmortem) have been performed.

Results

We described the foetal CNS anomalies based on MRI diagnostics and additionally verified the results by autopsy to confirm the findings and improve the services offered to patients and their families.

Conclusion

The findings of the study confirmed the role of the MRI as a reliable tool for unequivocal diagnosis of congenital CNS anomalies and malformations.

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Data Availability

Data related to this study is available upon request.

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Funding

The research was supported by an internal project of the Medical University of Plovdiv, Bulgaria.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Medicine, Medical University of Plovdiv, Plovdiv, Bulgaria

    M. J. Kingsley-Godwin & A. Tenev

  2. Clinic of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University Hospital “St. George”, Plovdiv, Bulgaria

    E. Uchikova

  3. Department of Diagnostic Imaging, Medical University of Plovdiv, Plovdiv, Bulgaria

    K. Velkova

  4. Department of General and Clinical Pathology, Medical University of Plovdiv, Plovdiv, Bulgaria

    V. Belovezhdov

  5. Translational Neuroscience Center, Medical University of Plovdiv, Plovdiv, Bulgaria

    M. Stoeva

Authors
  1. M. J. Kingsley-Godwin
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  2. A. Tenev
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  3. E. Uchikova
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  4. K. Velkova
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  5. V. Belovezhdov
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  6. M. Stoeva
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Contributions

All authors have equally contributed to the study.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to M. Stoeva.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Ethical Approval

The study was approved by the local Research Ethics Committee at the Medical University of Plovdiv.

Consent to Participate

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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The participants have consented to the publication of the study results.

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Cite this article

Kingsley-Godwin, M.J., Tenev, A., Uchikova, E. et al. Evaluation of the Significance of MRI in the Prenatal Diagnosis of Neural Tube Defects. J. Med. Biol. Eng. 41, 881–887 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40846-021-00657-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40846-021-00657-5

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