Abstract
Recent studies suggest that either maternal binge drinking or maternal hyperthermia might be one cause for neural tube defects. Timed pregnant golden hamsters were exposed to a double dose of ethanol on the morning of the 8th day of gestation (the day of neural tube closure in this species), and a 44 percent incidence of neural tube defects was observed). Similar defects could be engendered by treating the animals with varying periods of heat in a water-jacketed incubator at 39.5 degrees centigrade on the morning of Day 8. A 50-minute heat exposure resulted in a 35 percent incidence of neural tube defects, and a shorter exposure (44 minutes) resulted in a 23 percent incidence, while a longer exposure (56 minutes) resulted in a 68 percent incidence. We attempted to explore the hypothesis that maternal vitamin supplementation with folate may be effective in reducing the incidence of neural tube defects. Osmotic pumps filled with either folate or saline were placed subcutaneously in pregnant hamsters on the 6th day of gestation. Despite significantly increased maternal folate levels prior to providing a teratogenic insult with either a double dose of alcohol 4 hours apart or 50 minutes of heat in water-jacketed incubator, no significant protection from neural tube defects was afforded by supplementing the mother with folate. We question whether preconceptual vitamin supplementation may promote careful pregnancy planning which includes avoidance of known teratogens.
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Graham, J., Ferm, V. & Layton, W. FOLATE SUPPLEMENTATION DOES NOT PREVENT NEURAL TUBE DEFECTS INDUCED BY ALCOHOL OR HEAT. Pediatr Res 18 (Suppl 4), 305 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198404001-01273
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198404001-01273