This video shows Dilated lateral ventricles with Pregnancy of about 26 weeks.
Ventriculomegaly is a condition in which the ventricles appear larger than normal on a prenatal ultrasound. This can occur when CSF becomes trapped in the spaces, causing them to grow larger. Ventricles develop early in pregnancy and can be seen on prenatal ultrasound in the second trimester, at about the 15th week. If your child has mildly enlarged brain ventricles or ventriculomegaly without other complications, the condition may resolve on its own.
If the ventricles are more than 15 mm wide, the enlargement is considered severe. Fetal ventriculomegaly occurs in approximately one in every 1,000 births, and in roughly half of the cases, there are no other findings or abnormalities in the baby.
In a normal fetal brain, the ventricles are less than 10 mm wide. When the ventricles are between 10-mm and 15-mm wide, the baby is diagnosed with mild ventriculomegaly. If the ventricles are more than 15 mm wide, the enlargement is considered severe.
If the fetus has mildly enlarged brain ventricles or ventriculomegaly without other complications, the condition may resolve on its own. When hydrocephalus is more severe or progresses, timely treatment is important.
Mild ventriculomegaly is different from the more severe form of ventriculomegaly, hydrocephalus, or “water on the brain”. About 1 in every 500 babies will have mild ventriculomegaly. In most cases, babies with this ultrasound finding are born healthy.
When an injury or illness alters the circulation of CSF, one or more of the ventricles becomes enlarged as CSF accumulates. In an adult, the skull is rigid and cannot expand, so the pressure in the brain may increase profoundly. Hydrocephalus is a chronic condition. It can be controlled, but usually not cured.
Does ventriculomegaly go away? The ventricle size usually either stays the same or gets smaller later in pregnancy. The ventricles may even return to normal size, in some cases. However, about 1 in 10 babies with mild ventriculomegaly (10%) have the ventricles get larger.
Ventriculomegaly is typically categorized in one of two ways: mild (10–15 mm) or severe ( more than 15 mm); or as mild (10–12 mm), moderate (13–15 mm), or severe (more than 15 mm). The incidence of mild to moderate fetal ventriculomegaly is approximately 1%.
Ventriculomegaly associated with abnormal findings and other structural malformations often has an adverse prognosis, which ranges from disability (often mild) to death. However, in cases of mild isolated ventriculomegaly, there is around a 90% chance of a normal outcome.
Approximately 5% of cases of mild to moderate ventriculomegaly are reported to result from congenital fetal infections, including cytomegalovirus (CMV), toxoplasmosis, and Zika virus.
Hydrocephalus is a condition in which there is too much CSF in the ventricles. This occurs when the natural system for draining and absorbing extra CSF does not work right. The slow enlargement of the ventricles means that the fluid pressure in the brain may not be as high as in other types of hydrocephalus.
Hydrocephalus is a chronic condition. It can be controlled, but usually not cured. With appropriate early treatment, however, many people with hydrocephalus lead normal lives with few limitations. Hydrocephalus can occur at any age but is most common in infants and adults age 60 and older.
The brain fills the intracranial space while the shunt drains essentially all of the available CSF from the ventricles. ... If changes in cerebral blood flow occur, resulting in increased blood volume in the intracranial space, then increased intracranial pressure will result, possibly causing a headache.
Ventriculomegaly, also known as hydrocephalus, is a condition in which the CSF-filled structures within the brain become larger than normal. As a result, the large ventricles can inhibit the proper development of the brain.