Since the initial observations over 25 years ago that alcohol (ethanol) is a human teratogen (Jones et al., ’73; Jones and Smith, ’73), concerns regarding the prenatal effects of alcohol as a significant public health problem have been raised throughout the world. Much effort has gone into the delineation of a physical and neurobehavioral phenotype, numerous studies have focused on the birth pr...

The risk of birth defects is generally accredited with genetic factors, environmental causes, but the contribution of environmental factors to birth defects is still inconclusive. With the hypothesis of associations of geochemical features distribution and birth defects risk, we collected birth records and measured the chemical components in soil samples from a high prevalence area of birth def...

Unintended exposure to teratogenic compounds can lead to various birth defects; however current animal-based testing is limited by time, cost and high inter-species variability. Here, we developed a human-relevant in vitro model, which recapitulated two cellular events characteristic of embryogenesis, to identify potentially teratogenic compounds. We spatially directed mesoendoderm differentiat...

Thalidomide is a potent teratogen that induces a range of birth defects, most commonly of the developing limbs. The mechanisms underpinning the teratogenic effects of thalidomide are unclear. Here we demonstrate that loss of immature blood vessels is the primary cause of thalidomide-induced teratogenesis and provide an explanation for its action at the cell biological level. Antiangiogenic but ...

Genotoxic substances are those which capable to induce a destructive effect on cell’s genetic material. It can be either carcinogen, mutagen, teratogen or cytotoxic depending upon the dose, duration and mode of usage. Mutations may manifest in many forms as duplication, deletion insertion. However, all mutagens genotoxic, not genotoxins mutations. Currently traditional medicines plant drugs use...

Lamotrigine (LTG) is increasingly being prescribed in pregnancy for women with epilepsy in place of valproate (VPA), because of the teratogenic risks associated with the latter. It is therefore important to know the teratogenic hazard associated with LTG, relative to VPA and to other commonly used antiepileptic drugs (AEDs). Data from the Australian Register of Antiepileptic Drugs in Pregnancy ...

BACKGROUND Treatment of pregnant mice with 2-chloro-2'-deoxyadenosine (2CdA) on Day 8 of gestation induces microphthalmia through a mechanism linked to the p53 tumor suppressor pathway. The present study defines the response of Day 8 mouse embryos through time with respect to pharmacologic intervention with PK11195, a ligand of the mitochondrial peripheral benzodiazepine receptor (Bzrp). METH...

Alcohol is a common human teratogen that, when ingested by a pregnant woman, can produce a wide array of fetal complications. The fetus's developing brain seems most sensitive to prenatal alcohol exposure: Alcohol-related brain damage can be quite diffuse, ranging from microcellular, neurochemical aberrations to macroscopic malformations (Stratton, Howe, & Battaglie, 1996). The neurological, co...

INTRODUCTION Conjoined twins occur in approximately 0.2:10,000 births; the obstetrician and sonographer only rarely examine them. In Western countries, discovery of conjoined twins is often made by the end of the first trimester; however, in the third world, conjoined twins are often discovered only at birth. OBJECTIVE To evaluate how ultrasound techniques, when possibly available, may improv...