A congenital malformation is an anatomical or structural abnormality present at birth. Congenital malformations may be caused by genetic factors or environmental insults or a combination of the two that occur during prenatal development. Most common congenital malformations demonstrate multifactorial inheritance with a threshold effect and are determined by a combination of genetic and environm...

We developed and optimized a screening procedure, in which zebrafish embryos were explored as a model for the evaluation of the specific embryotoxic and teratogenic potential of chemicals. A selection of known positive (retinoic acid, valproic acid, caffeine, lithium chloride) and negative (glucose, saccharin) compounds for developmental toxicity were used to evaluate this method. We exposed em...

Sodium arsenate induces developmental malformations in a variety of experimental animals. In the golden hamster, the intravenous (or intraperitoneal) administration of 20 mg/kg of sodium arsenate during day 8 to 9 of gestation induces a rather specific spectrum of congenital malformations. This period corresponds to the period of very rapid differentiation and major organogenesis in this animal...

Recent studies demonstrate an increased teratogenic risk for valproate and a probable increased risk for phenobarbital. Carbamazepine and lamotrigine appear relatively safe; however, results are inconclusive concerning a specific risk for cleft lip/palate for both drugs as well as a dose-dependent effect for malformations associated with lamotrigine. Data regarding teratogenic risks for other a...

The chapter summarizes literature on the teratogenic effects of anticonvulsants and presents data from the Swedish Medical Birth Register. Many anticonvulsants have a teratogenic effect which varies between individual drugs with the highest risk associated with the use of valproic acid and probably topiramide. For some much used drugs like carbamazepine and lamotrigine the risk is not much elev...

Teratogenic and toxicological effects of lidocaine administered during pregnancy were evaluated in the Sprague Dawley rat. High doses of lidocaine administered during specific periods of gestation were shown to produce no apparent adverse toxicological or teratogenic effects. Histological, enzymological, and physical features of the fetuses, utilizing conventional toxicological parameters, were...