Maternal cytomegalovirus infection in the first trimester of pregnancy: timing, fetal brain injury, and long-term neurodevelopmental outcomes including autism spectrum disorder

The authors aimed to investigate the association between maternal cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection during pregnancy, particularly in the first trimester, and long-term neurodevelopmental outcomes, including autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Their findings indicate that adverse outcomes, such as hearing loss and neurodevelopmental impairments, were exclusively linked to first-trimester maternal infections, with ASD diagnosed only in children exposed during this period, all of whom exhibited temporal lobe white matter abnormalities. This research highlights a critical window of fetal vulnerability to CMV-related brain injury and suggests the potential for neuroimaging to aid in risk assessment and counseling.