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Abstract #2666

Impact of Anti-Inflammatory Treatment on Placental and Neurodevelopmental Defects Monitored in Utero by MRI

Sylvie Girard1, Luc Tremblay2, Guillaume Sebire1, Martin Lepage2

1Pediatric, Universite de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Qc, Canada; 2Radiobiology, Universite de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Qc, Canada


Perinatal inflammation predominantly affects preterm newborns leading to brain damage. Interleukin-1 (pro-inflammatory molecule) appears to be a key mediator linking maternal inflammation and fetal brain damage. Strategies to protect the fetal brain are currently unavailable mainly due to the lack of non-invasive tools to detect in utero inflammation and monitor the impact of an anti-inflammatory treatment. We showed that MRI is a potent technique to detect placental damage and can be used to monitor the impact of anti-inflammatory treatment in an animal model of prenatal inflammation.