Abstract
Extract: This paper reports the cytogenetic investigation of nine children exposed to LSD-25 in utero, four children of other LSD users not exposed in utero, the mothers of these children, and six additional adults taking the drug. In comparison with matched controls, significantly elevated frequencies of chromosomal damage were observed in all the individuals exposed. The frequencies of aberrations, however, were markedly reduced in those children not exposed in utero. Eight structural rearrangements were observed, six dicentric chromosomes and two quadriradial formations, among those individuals exposed to the drug, but none was observed in the controls. In spite of obvious chromosomal aberrations, all of the individuals in this study were apparently healthy and showed no obvious birth defects.
Speculation: The significance of chromosomal damage produced in utero by pharmacologic agents and observed in the circulating lymphocytes of exposed infants and children remains controversial. Analogies have been drawn which suggest possible consequences of these lesions. The present study documents chromosomal damage in somatic cells of patients lacking any physical abnormality and reemphasizes the necessity for defining the extent to which chromosomal imbalance can be tolerated without phenotypic deviation. One can only speculate on possible biological events were such agents to affect the chromosomes of spermatagonial cells and thus yield defective gamates. Were this to eventuate, drugs with chromosome-breaking potential could act as powerful mutagens and have effects persisting into subsequent generations.
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Cohen, M., Hirschhorn, K., Verbo, S. et al. The Effect of LSD-25 on the Chromosomes of Children Exposed in Utero. Pediatr Res 2, 486–492 (1968). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-196811000-00006
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-196811000-00006
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