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Adrenalectomy But Not Adrenal Demedullation During Pregnancy Prevents the Growth‐Retarding Effects of Fetal Alcohol Exposure
Author(s) -
Tritt Susan H.,
Tio Delia L.,
Brammer Gary L.,
Taylor An.
Publication year - 1993
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.1530-0277.1993.tb05242.x
Subject(s) - adrenalectomy , pregnancy , medicine , alcohol , fetus , endocrinology , chemistry , biology , biochemistry , genetics
Growth retardation, both in the prenatal and the early neonatal period, is a consistent feature of fetal alcohol exposure, but the mechanism by which alcohol affects growth has not been eludicated. Because other stressors–such as maternal restraint and neonatal glucocorticoid treatment–can also affect growth, we examined the effect of ethanol on pup birthweight under two experimental conditions that altered maternal adrenal function. In the first study when dams were adrenalectomized and given low replacement doses of dexamethasone, the ethanol‐exposed offspring of the adrenalectomized dams had birthweights similar to those of dams maintained on regular lab chow diets. In a second study, we found that maternal adrenal demedullation did not alter the reduction in birthweight produced by fetal ethanol exposure. The results suggest that the effects of ethanol on fetal growth may be mediated in part through ethanol‐induced changes in the function of the maternal adrenal cortex.