Growth retardation is one of the principal features of fetal alcohol syndrome. The cause of this growth retardation is unknown. Because of the clinical similarities between fetal alcohol syndrome and prenatal zinc deficiency, we studied in vivo the effect of short-term and long-term ethanol ingestion during pregnancy on placental transport of zinc in pair-fed rats. Our results indicate that both short- and long-term ethanol depressed zinc-65 uptake in the placenta and fetus by 40% and 30%, respectively, compared to pair-fed controls (p less than 0.05). Total zinc concentration in fetuses of the long-term ethanol group was significantly decreased compared to pair-fed controls (p less than 0.05). Although the mechanism of action of ethanol in producing the fetal alcohol syndrome maybe multiple, our findings suggest that a decrease in the availability of zinc to the fetus may represent one of the contributory factors in the growth retardation of fetal alcohol syndrome.
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Reprod Biol Endocrinol
January 2025
Departments of Internal Medicine and Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, Yale School of Medicine, 330 Cedar St, New Haven, CT, 06510, USA.
Background: Overweight and obesity-chronic illnesses in which an increase in body fat promotes adipose tissue dysfunction and abnormal fat mass resulting in adverse metabolic, biomechanical, and psychosocial health consequences-negatively impact female fertility. Adverse conception outcomes are multifactorial, ranging from poor oocyte quality and implantation issues to miscarriages and fetal health issues. However, with the advent of novel pharmacologic agents, significant weight loss can be achieved, improving the chances of healthy pregnancies, and their use should be considered during periconceptual counseling.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSubst Use Misuse
January 2025
Substance Use, Gender and Applied Research, RTI International, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA.
Recognizing the severe consequences of alcohol consumption during pregnancy, such as fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs), the present study explored the role of drinking attitudes, trait impulsivity, and decision-making toward instant gratification in alcohol craving and consumption during pregnancy among mothers of reproductive age. Utilizing participants from Amazon Mechanical Turk ( = 141), we first categorized mothers into three groups: those who neither craved nor consumed alcohol during their last pregnancy, those who craved but did not consume, and those who craved and consumed alcohol. Using binomial logistic regression, we then examined what factors, if any, could differentiate between (a) mothers who craved alcohol during pregnancy and those who did not and (b) mothers who resisted alcohol cravings and those who yielded to them.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPhysiol Rep
January 2025
Department of Physiology & Biophysics, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.
Sympathoexcitation is a hallmark of heart failure, with sustained β-adrenergic receptor (βAR)-G protein signaling activation. βAR signaling is modulated by regulator of G protein signaling (RGS) proteins. Previously, we reported that Gα regulation by RGS2 or RGS5 is key to ventricular rhythm regulation, while the dual loss of both RGS proteins results in left ventricular (LV) dilatation and dysfunction.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFront Aging Neurosci
December 2024
Scientific Research Center, Guangzhou Sport University, Guangzhou, China.
Objective: Anxiety and depression-like symptoms occur in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease. Hippocampal Sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) signaling mediates anxiety- and depression-like behavior. Exercise training improves anxiety and depression-like behavior in various disease models, such as the rat chronic restraint stress model, rat model of posttraumatic stress disorder, and rat model of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAlcohol Clin Exp Res (Hoboken)
December 2024
Department of Psychology, Center for Behavioral Teratology, San Diego State University, San Diego, California, USA.
Background: Fine motor skill deficits have been reported for children with histories of prenatal alcohol exposure, but little is known whether impaired motor skill extends to the regulation of precision grip control.
Methods: Children with (n = 15) and without (n = 17) histories of heavy prenatal alcohol exposure used their dominant hand to grasp, lift, and hold in space a small-instrumented object with a mass of 19 g. Object mass was also experimentally increased by separately adding two aluminum cubes with mass of 200 and 400 g.
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