Effects of abuse pattern of gestational toluene exposure on metabolism, feeding and body composition.

Aims: Inhalant abuse during pregnancy lowers birth weight and impedes early development. These studies explored the effects of brief, repeated, prenatal toluene exposures in pregnant female rats on body weight, metabolic rate, body composition, and food intake in their offspring.

Method: Rats were exposed to 0, 8000, 12,000, or 16,000 ppm of toluene twice daily for 15 min from gestational days 8 to 20.