Skip to content
Project Directory
  • Français
Donate Now
  • Français
  • About
    • What We Do
    • Leadership
    • Team
    • Publications
    • Careers
  • Diseases/Disorders
    • One Brain
    • ALS
    • Alzheimer’s
    • Autism
    • Brain Cancer
    • Brain Injury
    • Epilepsy
    • Mental Illness
    • Multiple Sclerosis
    • Parkinson’s
    • Stroke
    • Other
  • Research
    • Programs
    • Funding Opportunities
    • Program Partners
    • Announcements
  • Impact
  • Ways To Give
    • Your Impact
    • How You Can Help
    • Events

Funded Grants

Back to results

Antenatal prediction of preterm birth: placental function, fetal and neonatal brain development

Project Overview

Fetal growth restriction is associated with pregnancy complications, as well as high rates of preterm birth and childhood disabilities. This is a complex disorder that impacts the development of the placenta and limits blood flow to the fetal brain, depriving the fetus of oxygen and nutrients needed to grow. What’s more, is that fetal growth restriction is very common and impacts 6 in 100 pregnancies in Canada. In the developing world, fetal growth restriction is more common and worldwide fetal growth restriction impacts ~30 million pregnancies per year. Presently, there are no treatments or therapies available. Early delivery is medically advised for pregnant women experiencing growth restriction; however preterm delivery comes at a high cost as babies born early are at high risk for infection and brain injury due to their immaturity that place them at risk for developmental disabilities. Better tools are needed to diagnose and monitor pregnant women whose fetuses are at risk for growth restriction.

Presently, fetal growth restriction is diagnosed and monitored using Doppler ultrasound. Using this technique, blood flow to the placenta and fetal brain are assessed. However, Doppler ultrasound may only be able to detect more advanced stages of fetal growth restrictions, when decreases in blood flow are severe. Advances in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) now allow for the imaging of placental blood flow and the fetal brain at the same time. For the current proposal, we will assess whether MRI-based measures of placental function are better predictors of fetal brain health and delivery times compared to Doppler ultrasound in growth-restricted fetuses.

Developing sensitive MRI-biomarkers for placental function predictive of fetal development in growth restricted fetuses who are at risk for preterm birth can better inform delivery times. Sensitive biomarkers can also be used to test the efficacy of antenatal interventions for growth restriction.

Principal Investigator

Emma Duerden , Western University

Partners and Donors

Azrieli Foundation

Project Ongoing

Antenatal prediction of preterm birth: placental function, fetal and neonatal brain development

  • Program Type

    Capacity building grants

  • Area of research

    Neurodevelopment

  • Disease Area

    Other

  • Competition

    Future Leaders in Canadian Brain Research

  • Province

    Ontario

  • Start Date

    2022

  • Total Grant Amount

    $99,789

  • Health Canada Contribution

    $49,895

Contact Us

1200 McGill College Avenue
Suite 1600, Montreal, Quebec
H3B 4G7

The offices of Brain Canada Foundation are located on the traditional, ancestral territory of the Kanien'kehá:ka Peoples, a place which has long served as a site of meeting and exchange amongst nations.

+1 (514) 989-2989 info@braincanada.ca

Playing with Marbles Podcast

Join us and take a journey to the real last great frontier – the brain.

Listen

Subscribe to Brain News

Receive our monthly electronic newsletter with updates on funded projects, upcoming events and breakthroughs in brain research.

Sign up

© 2023 Brain Canada Foundation

Registration number: 89105 2094 RR0001

  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy

Design by Field Trip & Co