Abstract
Opioid and naloxone administration induces sex-dependent changes of gonadotropins in newborn rats which has not yet been studied in human newborns.We measured plasma β-LH,FSH and PRL with specific RIAs in mothers(n=23) during labour before and 60′ after pentazocine and in their newborns just after birth and 20′after naloxone administration.Pentazocine(30mg i.m.) was given as an analgesic to the mother.Naloxone(0.01mg/kg i.m.)was administered as a routine treatment in our hospital to the baby immediately after delivery to prevent opioid induced apnoea.In mothers there were no significant differences of β-LH,FSH and PRL before and after pentazocine.In cord blood of female newborns β-LH was significantly lower(5.23mU/ml)following maternal pentazocine as compared with controls(9.06mU/ml,p<0.05).After naloxone there was no change of β-LH,but the levels remained lower(3.96mU/ml) as compared with controls(9.75mU/ml,p<0.001).FSH in the female newborns showed a similiar pattern as β-LH being suppressed in cord blood after maternal pentazocine(0.32mU/ml,p<0.001)and showing no change after naloxone(0.27mU/ml).In male newborns,however, there were no significant differences of β-LH and FSH following pentazocine and naloxone administration.We speculate that there is a sex specific difference at the receptor site controlling gonadotropin secretion in human newborns.
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Weil, J., Kiess, W., Butenandt, O. et al. Effect of opioid(pentazocine) and opioid-antagonist (naloxone) administration on plasma β-LH,FSH and Prolactin(PRL) levels in the perinatal period. Pediatr Res 18, 1207 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198411000-00039
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198411000-00039