UNLABELLED Cocaine abuse during pregnancy has been associated with numerous adverse perinatal outcomes. AIMS The present study was to determine whether prenatal cocaine exposure induced apoptosis and the possible role of Bcl-2 family genes in the programming cell death in fetal rat brain. MAIN METHODS Pregnant rats were treated with cocaine subcutaneously (30 & 60 mg/kg/day) from day 15 to ...

This report describes methods to estimate fetal radiation doses from radiation diagnostic examinations, based on survey data from 3 hospitals in southern Sweden. The fetal dose has been calculated with available computer programs and verified by dose measurements inside a female human phantom for conventional X-ray and computed tomography (CT) examinations. Measured fetal doses have been correl...

BACKGROUND Antenatal steroids are standard of care for women who are at risk of preterm delivery; however, antenatal steroid dosing and formulation have not been evaluated adequately. The standard clinical 2-dose treatment with betamethasone-acetate+betamethasone-phosphate is more effective than 2 doses of betamethasone-phosphate for the induction of lung maturation in preterm fetal sheep. We h...

Using [13C]-tracers and direct fetal doses, we show for the first time that the fetal primate converts alpha-linolenic acid (18:3) to docosahexaenoic acid (22:6) in vivo, and we estimate the relative bioefficacy of the two substrates for brain 22:6 accretion. Pregnant female baboons consumed a diet free of long chain polyunsaturates (LCP), with n-6/n-3 ratio of 10/1. In the third trimester of p...

Most common male reproductive disorders are linked to lower testosterone exposure in fetal life, although the factors responsible for suppressing fetal testosterone remain largely unknown. Protracted use of acetaminophen during pregnancy is associated with increased risk of cryptorchidism in sons, but effects on fetal testosterone production have not been demonstrated. We used a validated xenog...

Cigarette smoking during pregnancy is associated with a variety of adverse fetal outcomes. Nicotine is a likely contributor to these adverse effects, with fetal brain as one target organ. Vaccination of adult male rats against nicotine has been shown to reduce nicotine distribution to the brain. The current study examined whether vaccination of female rats before pregnancy would reduce the dist...

The contribution of fetal metabolism to drug disposition in pregnancy is poorly understood. With maternal administration of morphine, like many drugs, steady-state concentrations in fetal plasma are less than in maternal plasma. The contribution of fetal metabolism to this difference is unknown. Morphine was used as a model drug to test the hypothesis that fetal metabolism contributes significa...

In our study, we aimed to measure the dose exposed by fetus during three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3D-CRT) and intensity-modulated (IMRT) treatment techniques in pregnant patients who had undergo due breast cancer with thermoluminescence dosimetry (TLD) compare these measurements planning system (TPS). 2.5 mm- thick computed tomography (CT) images of Alderson Rando phantom device were...