Impact of e-cigarette vaping aerosol exposure in pregnancy on mTOR signaling in rat fetal hippocampus.

Electronic cigarette (e-cig) use during pregnancy has become a major health concern in recent years and many view them as less harmful and may help quit or reduce combustible cigarettes. Implementing a state-of-the-art engineered vaping system, comprising an atomizer similar to those sold in vape shops, we aimed to utilize a translational e-cig inhalation delivery method to provide crucial information on the impact of prenatal e-cig aerosols on the developing brain hippocampal mTOR system in a rat model system. Gestational e-cig vaping significantly increased P-mTOR levels ( < 0.

A Forehead Wearable Sensor for the Objective Measurement of Chronic Pain.

Chronic pain impacts one in five Americans and is difficult to manage, costing ~USD 600 billion annually. The subjective experience of pain is a complex processing of central nervous system input. Recent advances in magnetic resonance imaging revealed the prefrontal cortex as vital to the perception of pain and that changes in the cerebral hemodynamics can be used to detect painful sensations.

Interaction of alcohol & phosphatidic acid in maternal rat uterine artery function.

Alcohol has been demonstrated to impair maternal uterine arterial adaptations in Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) animal models. However, the exact mechanism remains inconclusive. We hypothesized that phosphatidic acid (PA), a direct target of alcohol metabolism, would alleviate alcohol-induced vascular dysfunction of the maternal uterine artery.

Impact of E-cig aerosol vaping on fetal and neonatal respiratory development and function.

Electronic cigarette (e-cig) use has increased over the past decade, and exposure to e-cig aerosols during pregnancy raises concern for maternal and fetal health. The developing fetal lung is known to be sensitive to prenatal tobacco product exposure. Utilizing a 3-pronged approach, we examined the effects of prenatal e-cig aerosols with, and without nicotine on respiratory development in a murine model.

Impact of gestational electronic cigarette vaping on amino acid signature profile in the pregnant mother and the fetus.

Background: Electronic cigarettes (e-cigs) are a form of tobacco product that has become increasingly popular over the past decade. Despite the known health consequences of tobacco product exposure during pregnancy, a substantial number of daily smokers will continue to smoke during pregnancy. Our current knowledge on the effects of e-cig aerosol exposure during pregnancy is limited to a small number of animal studies, which have identified several e-cig aerosol-induced disruptions to the physiology of normal development.

Morphological alteration in rat hippocampal neuronal dendrites following chronic binge prenatal alcohol exposure.

Prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) may result in Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD). The hippocampus has been recognized as a vulnerable target to alcohol-induced developmental damage. However, the effect of prenatal exposure to alcohol on dendritic morphological adaptations throughout the hippocampal fields in the developing brain still remains largely unknown in the context of FASD.

Impact of Electronic Cigarette Aerosols on Pregnancy and Early Development.

As the use of electronic cigarettes (e-cigs) continues to increase, especially among youth and pregnant women, so does the need for investigations into the effects of e-cig aerosols on prenatal development and early life. Herein, the most recent findings on the effects of e-cig aerosols during pregnancy and early life are reviewed. The results of these studies support the need for immediate action to further understand the potential harm that e-cigs may cause to pregnant women and their children.

Gestational binge alcohol-induced alterations in maternal uterine artery transcriptome.

Binge alcohol exposure during pregnancy results in diminished vessel function and altered proteome in the maternal uterine artery. We aimed to utilize high throughput RNA-seq deep-sequencing to characterize specific effects of binge alcohol exposure during pregnancy on the uterine artery transcriptome, and gain insight into mechanisms underlying alcohol-mediated uterine artery dysfunction. Pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats assigned to Pair-Fed Control or Alcohol groups, received a once-daily orogastric gavage in a binge paradigm.

Chronic exposure to e-cig aerosols during early development causes vascular dysfunction and offspring growth deficits.

Increasing popularity of electronic cigarettes (e-cigs), including among women of reproductive age, is attributed to its perceived safety compared to conventional tobacco. However, there is a major knowledge gap surrounding the effects of e-cig aerosols on pregnancy and fetal development. We aimed to evaluate the effects of vaping e-cigs during gestation on offspring growth and to asses if growth deficits are accompanied by altered maternal and fetal vascular hemodynamics.

Chronic binge alcohol consumption during pregnancy alters rat maternal uterine artery pressure response.

We aimed to investigate pressure-dependent maternal uterine artery responses and vessel remodeling following gestational binge alcohol exposure. Two groups of pregnant rats were used: the alcohol group (28.5% wt/v, 6.