RATIONALE The influence of developmental nicotine exposure on the brain represents an important health topic in light of the popularity of nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) as a smoking cessation method during pregnancy. OBJECTIVES In this study, we used a model of NRT during pregnancy and breastfeeding to explore the consequences of chronic developmental nicotine exposure on cerebral neurop...

The AIN-93G diets based on soya protein or casein were fed to pregnant Wistar rats from day 3 of gestation and compared for their effects on characteristics of the metabolic syndrome in male offspring. Pregnant rats were randomised to either a casein (C) or soya protein (S) diet (n 12) during gestation only (Expt 1) or during gestation and lactation (Expt 2). Male offspring were weaned to eithe...

We developed a maternal fetal rat model to study the effects of isoflurane-induced neurotoxicity on the fetuses of pregnant rats exposed in utero. Pregnant rats at gestational day 14 were exposed to 1.3 or 3% isoflurane for 1h. At postnatal day 28, spatial learning and memory of the offspring were examined using the Morris Water Maze. The apoptosis was evaluated by caspase-3 immunohistochemistr...

Prenatal cocaine exposure in rats resulted in decreased PKCepsilon protein expression in the heart of adult male but not female offspring. The present study determined its functional consequence of inhibiting cardioprotection mediated by ischemic preconditioning. Pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats were administered intraperitoneally saline or cocaine (30 mg.kg(-1).day(-1)) from day 15 to day 21 of ge...

Introduction: Stress has many effects on the development of systems and organs in the fetal period, and these effects appear after birth. Since hemopoietic system is susceptible to stress, effects of restraint stress were studied in offspring of pregnant rats. Methods: Pregnant rats were divided into one control and three stress groups. The control group did not receive any stress during the ge...

Maternal immune activation (MIA) during pregnancy is an environmental risk factor for psychiatric illnesses such as schizophrenia and autism in the offspring. Hence, changes in an array of behaviors, including behavioral flexibility, consistent with altered functioning of cortico-limbic circuits have been reported in rodent models of MIA. Surprisingly, previous studies have not examined the eff...

Objective: In this study we investigated the effects of spearmint (Mentha spicata Labiatae) on the reproductive system, fertility and number of offspring in adult male rats. Materials and Methods: Adult Wistar male rats in one control (C) and three experimental groups (I, II and III) received 0, 10, 20 and 40 mg/kg spearmint extract orally for 45 days, respectively.  Following this treatment, t...

Shift work during pregnancy is associated with an increased risk for preterm birth and low birth weight. However, the impact upon the long term health of the children is currently unknown. In this study, we used an animal model to determine the consequences of maternal shift work exposure on the health of the adult offspring. Pregnant rats were exposed to chronic phase shifts (CPS) in their pho...

Experimental studies that sought teratologic effects or developmental abnormalities from exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RFEMF) in the range 3 kHz-300 GHz are critically reviewed for their possible consequences on human health. Those studies were conducted on beetles, birds, rodents, and nonhuman primates. Collectively, those experimental studies indicate that teratologic eff...