Abstract
The effect of the drugs: sulphadiazine, sulphadimidine, sulphathiazole, sulphatnethizole, elipten, primidone, phenobarbitone, phenytoin and aspirin, upon formation of 17a-hydroxyprogesterone, 11-deoxy-corticosterone, and cortisol, from 4-14C labelled progesterone, by human fetal adrenal cortex was studied. Slices of tissue from dead, aborted fetuses were incubated in Krebs-Ringer-bicarbonate medium with added glucose for 30 min. Steroids were extracted with benzene/chloroform 6:1 and dichlormethane, separated using a Bush A paper chromatogram followed by two TLC's and in some cases GLC analysis of the major fractions. Preliminary results from about 25 incubations with aspirin show marginal decreases in production of cortisol (3–5%) in fetuses of about 12 weeks. Single incubations with other drugs indicate that phenytoin and the sulphonamides may reduce cortisol production by up to 15%. None of the other drugs investigated gave any significant result. The results indicate that drugs present in the maternal blood supply may have detrimental effects on fetal cortisol production. No statistically significant effects on formation of intermediates were apparent in the small number of incubations studied so far. Research was supported by Scottish Home and Health Department Grant No. K/MRS/18/199.
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Leaf, F. THE EFFECT OF VARIOUS DRUGS UPON FETAL ADRENAL STEROID PRODUCTION. Pediatr Res 9, 671 (1975). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-197508000-00041
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-197508000-00041