Uterus transplantation; first data on neurologic, neuropsychiatric, and physical examination follow-up of children up to 6 years of age.

What are the outcomes regarding cognition, development, physical, and psychiatric status of children born after uterus transplantation (UTx) up to 6 years after birth? The long-term and very long-term outcomes of children born after UTx indicate normal cognitive, neuropsychiatric, and physical development. Previous cohort studies of children born after UTx and followed up to 2-3 years indicate normal neurodevelopment and occasional cases of minor malformations. A prospective cohort study was performed on 11 offspring after UTx. All children (7 boys, 4 girls) were examined at age 2.5 years and eight children (5 boys, 3 girls) were examined at age 6 years. The cognitive evaluations, Bayley-III test and WPPSI-IV, were performed at age 2.5 years (n = 11) and age 6 years (n = 8), respectively. Parental questionnaires pertaining to neurodevelopmental and behavioural problems, including the Strengths and Difficulties questionnaire (SDQ) and the ESSENCE-Q, were administered. All children (age 2.5 years: n = 11; age: 6 years: n = 8) underwent physical examinations. Cognitive skills showed results within the normal range at both age 2.5 years and age 6 years. According to the SDQ, emotional problems were the most common symptoms, affecting two children at age 2.5 years and two children at age 6 years. Three children scored above the cut off on the ESSENCE-Q at age 2.5 years, and one child continued to score 'high' at age 6 years. At the first examination, three children had asthma, and speech problems were observed in five children. Among those who were also assessed at age 6 years, these problems had abated. At age 6 years, one child was considered hyperactive, and another child exhibited vocal tics. Developmental and behavioural deviations were observed almost exclusively in the boys. Limitations of the study include the small sample size, and the lack of a comparison group. The small sample does not offer enough statistical power, and no firm conclusions can therefore be drawn based on the reported deviances. The long-term and very long-term outcomes of children born after UTx indicated normal cognitive development. A minority had minor physical and developmental problems, including asthma and speech problems at age 2.5 years, but most of these symptoms subsided by age 6 years. Boys seemed to be over-represented regarding developmental and behavioural deviations. The small sample size limits the ability to generalize the findings to all children born after UTx. The study was supported by The Swedish research council (Grant/Award Numbers: Dnr 2023-02035 (H.H.), 2024-03487 (M.B.)), the Swedish state under the agreement between the Swedish Government and the country councils, the ALF-agreement, grant/Award-Numbers: ALFGBG-1005108 (H.H.), ALFGBG-965535 (M.B.), Jane and Dan Olsson Foundation for Science (2020-09 (M.B.)), and Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation (2017.0363 (M.B.)). There are no conflicts of interest for any of the authors. NCT01844362, NCT02987023.