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Pituitary and Thyroid Hormones in Pregnant Alcohol‐Fed Rats and Their Fetuses
Author(s) -
Lee Melvin,
Wakabayashi Katsumi
Publication year - 1986
Publication title -
alcoholism: clinical and experimental research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.267
H-Index - 153
eISSN - 1530-0277
pISSN - 0145-6008
DOI - 10.1111/j.1530-0277.1986.tb05118.x
Subject(s) - medicine , endocrinology , prolactin , triiodothyronine , hormone , fetus , gestation , thyroid , alcohol , ethanol , ingestion , hypothalamic–pituitary–thyroid axis , pregnancy , pituitary gland , thyroid stimulating hormone , fetal alcohol syndrome , biology , biochemistry , genetics
The effect of maternal alcohol consumption on serum and pituitary concentrations of hormones was investigated in pregnant rats and their fetuses. Rats were given 20% ethanol in water prior to pregnancy and 30% ethanol in water throughout gestation, with rat chow ad libitum (alcohol group), or water with an equicaloric diet in which com starch was substituted for alcohol (pair‐fed group), or rat chow and water ad libitum (ad libitum control group). Growth hormone (GH), prolactin (Prl), thyroid‐stimulating hormone (TSH), thyroxine (T 4 ), and triiodothyronine (T) were measured in maternal serum, GH, Prl, and TSH in maternal pituitary, and GH, T 4 , and T a in fetal serum. Fetuses of alcohol‐fed rats weighed significantly less than fetuses of pair‐fed or ad libitum controls. GH, Prl, and TSH were significantly reduced in the maternal serum of alcohol and pair‐fed rats compared to ad libitum controls, but T 4 and T a did not differ among the three groups. Pituitary GH was reduced in the alcohol‐fed rats, but pituitary Prl and TSH did not differ among the three groups. In the fetuses, neither GH nor T 4 differed among the three groups. Fetal T a was not detectable by this assay. It is suggested that alcohol ingestion affects maternal growth hormone levels, possibly by influencing either the synthesis or the release of the hormone from the pituitary gland. The other hormonal changes may be the result of the reduced food intake, rather than a specific effect of alcohol.