Sinistrality—a side-effect of prenatal sonography: A comparative study of young men

Kieler, Helle; Cnattingius, Sven; Haglund, Bengt; Palmgren, Juni; Axelssön, Ove

doi:10.1097/00001648-200111000-00007

Cited by 104 publications

(79 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…Occasional studies report an association between diagnostic ultrasound and some specific abnormalities such as lower birth weight, 79 delayed speech, 80 dyslexia, 81 and non-righthandedness. 82,83 With the exception of low birth weight (also shown in monkeys 84 ), these findings have never been duplicated, and findings from most studies have been negative for any association. For further details, please see American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine epidemiology statement.…”

Section: Clinical Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fetal Thermal Effects of Diagnostic Ultrasound

Abramowicz

Barnett

Duck

et al. 2008

Journal of Ultrasound in Medicine

101

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rocesses that can produce a biological effect with some degree of heating (ie, about 1°C above the physiologic temperature) act via a thermal mechanism. Investigations with laboratory animals have documented that pulsed ultrasound can produce elevations of temperature and damage in biological tissues in vivo, particularly in the presence of bone (intracranial temperature elevation). Acoustic outputs used to induce these adverse bioeffects are within the diagnostic range, although exposure times are usually considerably longer than in clinical practice. Conditions present in early pregnancy, such as lack of perfusion, may favor bioeffects. Thermally induced teratogenesis has been shown in many animal studies, as well as several controlled human studies; however, human studies have not shown a causal relationship between diagnostic ultrasound exposure during pregnancy and adverse biological effects to the fetus. All human epidemiologic studies, however, were conducted with commercially available devices predating 1992, that is, with acoustic outputs not exceeding a spatial-peak temporal-average intensity of 94 mW/cm 2 . Current limits in the United States allow a spatial-peak temporal-average intensity of 720 mW/cm 2 for fetal applications. The synergistic effect of a raised body temperature (febrile status) and ultrasound insonation has not been examined in depth. Available evidence, experimental or epidemiologic, is insufficient to conclude that there is a causal relationship between obstetric diagnostic ultrasound exposure and obvious adverse thermal effects to the fetus. However, very subtle effects cannot be ruled out and indicate a need for further research, although research in humans may be extremely difficult to realize.

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Section: Clinical Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fetal Thermal Effects of Diagnostic Ultrasound

Abramowicz

Barnett

Duck

et al. 2008

Journal of Ultrasound in Medicine

101

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“…There also is some evidence that the frequent exposure of the human fetus to USW is associated with a decrease in newborn body weight (28,29), an increase in the frequency of left-handedness (30), and delayed speech (31).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Prenatal exposure to ultrasound waves impacts neuronal migration in mice

Ang

Glunčić

Duque

et al. 2006

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

242

172

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Neurons of the cerebral neocortex in mammals, including humans, are generated during fetal life in the proliferative zones and then migrate to their final destinations by following an inside-tooutside sequence. The present study examined the effect of ultrasound waves (USW) on neuronal position within the embryonic cerebral cortex in mice. We used a single BrdU injection to label neurons generated at embryonic day 16 and destined for the superficial cortical layers. Our analysis of over 335 animals reveals that, when exposed to USW for a total of 30 min or longer during the period of their migration, a small but statistically significant number of neurons fail to acquire their proper position and remain scattered within inappropriate cortical layers and͞or in the subjacent white matter. The magnitude of dispersion of labeled neurons was variable but systematically increased with duration of exposure to USW. These results call for a further investigation in larger and slower-developing brains of non-human primates and continued scrutiny of unnecessarily long prenatal ultrasound exposure.brain malformations ͉ cerebral cortex ͉ embryonic development A fundamental feature of cerebral cortical organization is that positions of its neuronal constituents into horizontal (laminar) and vertical (radial) arrays ultimately define their connectivity and function (1). Cortical neurons acquire appropriate positions by migration from the site of their origin in the proliferative zones lining the cerebral ventricle, according to a precise schedule (2, 3) and along well defined pathways (4-6). When the rate of neuronal migration and the sequence of arrival are altered because of genetic and͞or environmental factors, various consequences, including abnormal behavior, have been observed (7-13). In terms of orientation and directionality of movement, neuronal migration to the cerebral cortex can be classified into radial (proceeding radially from the ventricular to the pial surface) (5, 14) and tangential (running parallel to the brain surface) (15)(16)(17). Contact interaction between migrating neurons and the surfaces of neighboring cells plays a decisive role in selecting the migratory pathway and determining their final position (18,19). Neuronal migration involves translocation of the nucleus and the surrounding cytoplasm with the leading process, which requires rearrangement of the cytoskeleton (20, 21). As a consequence of these complex cellular and molecular interactions, the process of neuronal migration is highly sensitive to a variety of biological, physical, and chemical agents, as well as to specific genetic mutations (7-13). For example, repeated exposure of the rodent and primate fetal brain to environmental agents, such as alcohol (9), drugs (22), neurotrophic viruses (23), and ionizing irradiation (24, 25), causes misplacement of neurons and behavioral deficits.To our knowledge, the effect of ultrasound waves (USW) on the rate of migration in the cerebral cortex has never been tested, although it has been reported ...

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“…A metaanalysis of the two studies also suggested an association when analyzing males alone (Salvesen and Eik-Nes, 1999b). Examining the handedness of adult men yielded conflicting results, depending upon the years during which ultrasound exposure occurred (Kieler et al, 2001).…”

Section: Doppler French Study Groupmentioning

confidence: 99%

The safety of obstetrical ultrasound: a review

2009

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Ultrasound is a commonly employed imaging modality in obstetrics and is generally regarded as safe to the fetus. Current ultrasound technology, however, has significantly higher output potential than older machines used in most clinical studies, and the safety profile for the increasing use of Doppler, 3-dimensional (D) and 4-D ultrasound with modern machines is unknown. This article reviews the current status of ultrasound safety within obstetrics, including proposed mechanisms of harm, existing scientific and clinical evidence regarding those mechanisms, and considerations of safety for the clinical user.

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Sinistrality—a side-effect of prenatal sonography: A comparative study of young men

Cited by 104 publications

References 21 publications

Fetal Thermal Effects of Diagnostic Ultrasound

Fetal Thermal Effects of Diagnostic Ultrasound

Prenatal exposure to ultrasound waves impacts neuronal migration in mice

The safety of obstetrical ultrasound: a review

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