The Epidemiology of Congenital Brain Anomalies

Congenital brain anomalies are serious developmental conditions that arise from disruptions in brain tissue development during fetal life. They include the anomalies arising from the failure of the dorsal induction stage of neuronal development, like anencephaly, cephalocele, Chiari malformations, and spinal dysraphic disorders. They can also arise from failure in ventral induction, like holoprosencephaly, cerebellar hypoplasia, Dandy-Walker malformation, septo-optic dysplasia, etc. Furthermore, failure in migration and histogenesis can give rise to arachnoid cysts, megalencephaly, aqueductal stenosis, microcephaly, and neurocutaneous syndromes. The epidemiology of these congenial brain lesions varies from region to region and can play an important role in their detection and treatment.