Effect of Hydrocortisone on the Closure of Palatal Shelves in vivo and in vitro

Abstract

SINCE the first experiments of Fraser and Fainstat¹ in 1951, it has become clear that cortisone induces cleft palate in mice when administered before the closure of the palatal shelves. Certain direct and indirect effects on the palatal tissue have been suggested, in cluding the effect of cortisone on the turnover of the amniotic fluid^2–4. Harris⁴ postulated that oligohydramnion, resulting from maternal cortisone treatment, affects the normal development of the palatal region by constricting the embryo. Recently, however, Fraser et al.⁵ have compared the amount of amniotic fluid in embryos treated with cortisone with and without cleft palate. Ko differences were detected and the results seem to rule out the possibility that oligohydramnion plays a part in the genesis of cleft palate.