The effect of perinatal exposures on the infant: antidepressants and depression.

Depression, anxiety, or both, during pregnancy are common complications during the perinatal period, with 15-20% of women experiencing depression at some point during their pregnancy. Considerable evidence suggests that untreated or undertreated maternal Axis I mood disorders can increase the risk for preterm birth, low birth weight, and alter neurobehavioral development in utero. Serotonin reuptake inhibitor antidepressants are often considered for antenatal therapy, with the goal of improving maternal mental health during pregnancy. Treatment with a serotonin-reuptake inhibitor, however, does not guarantee remission of depression, and in-utero serotonin reuptake inhibitor exposure has also been linked to increased risks for adverse infant outcomes. In this chapter, evidence linking serotonin reuptake inhibitor use with an increased risk for postnatal adaptation syndrome, congenital heart defects, and neonatal persistent pulmonary hypertension is reviewed. Management decisions should include attention to the continuum of depression symptoms, from subclinical to severe major depressive disorder and the long-term developmental risks that might also be associated with pre- and postnatal exposure.

Fetal antiepileptic drug exposure: Adaptive and emotional/behavioral functioning at age 6years.

The Neurodevelopmental Effects of Antiepileptic Drugs (NEAD) study is a prospective observational multicenter study in the USA and UK, which enrolled pregnant women with epilepsy on antiepileptic drug (AED) monotherapy from 1999 to 2004. The study aimed to determine if differential long-term neurodevelopmental effects exist across four commonly used AEDs (carbamazepine, lamotrigine, phenytoin, and valproate). In this report, we examine fetal AED exposure effects on adaptive and emotional/behavioral functioning at 6years of age in 195 children (including three sets of twins) whose parent (in most cases, the mother) completed at least one of the rating scales. Adjusted mean scores for the four AED groups were in the low average to average range for parent ratings of adaptive functioning on the Adaptive Behavior Assessment System-Second Edition (ABAS-II) and for parent and teacher ratings of emotional/behavioral functioning on the Behavior Assessment System for Children (BASC). However, children whose mothers took valproate during pregnancy had significantly lower General Adaptive Composite scores than the lamotrigine and phenytoin groups. Further, a significant dose-related performance decline in parental ratings of adaptive functioning was seen for both valproate and phenytoin. Children whose mothers took valproate were also rated by their parents as exhibiting significantly more atypical behaviors and inattention than those in the lamotrigine and phenytoin groups. Based upon BASC parent and teacher ratings of attention span and hyperactivity, children of mothers who took valproate during their pregnancy were at a significantly greater risk for a diagnosis of ADHD. The increased likelihood of difficulty with adaptive functioning and ADHD with fetal valproate exposure should be communicated to women with epilepsy who require antiepileptic medication. Finally, additional research is needed to confirm these findings in larger prospective study samples, examine potential risks associated with other AEDs, better define the risks to the neonate that are associated with AEDs for treatment of seizures, and understand the underlying mechanisms of adverse AED effects on the immature brain.

One-year monitoring of core biomarker and digestive enzyme responses in transplanted zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha).

A 12-month active biomonitoring study was performed in 2008-2009 on the Vesle river basin (Champagne-Ardenne, France) using the freshwater mussel Dreissena polymorpha as a sentinel species; allochthonous mussels originating from a reference site (Commercy) were exposed at four sites (Bouy, Sept-Saulx, Fismes, Ardre) within the Vesle river basin. Selected core biomarkers (acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity, glutathione-S transferase (GST) activity, metallothionein concentration), along with digestive enzyme activities (amylase, endocellulase) and energy reserve concentrations (glycogen, lipids), were monitored throughout the study in exposed mussels. At the Fismes and Ardre sites (downstream basin), metallic and organic contamination levels were low but still high enough to elicit AChE and GST activity induction in exposed mussels (chemical stress); besides, chemical pollutants had no apparent deleterious effects on mussel condition. At the Bouy and Sept-Saulx sites (upstream basin), mussels obviously suffered from adverse food conditions which seriously impaired individual physiological state and survival (nutritional stress); food scarcity had however no apparent effects on core biomarker responses. Digestive enzyme activities responded to both chemical and nutritional stresses, the increase in energy outputs (general adaptation syndrome-downstream sites) or the decrease in energy inputs (food scarcity-upstream sites) leading to mid- or long-term induction of digestive carbohydrase activities in exposed mussels (energy optimizing strategy). Complex regulation patterns of these activities require nevertheless the use of a multi-marker approach to allow data interpretation. Besides, their sensitivity to natural confounding environmental factors remains to be precised.

Changes in the plasma electrolytes and metabolites of the rat following acute exposure to sodium fluoride and strontium chloride.

Acute exposure of rats to strontium or fluoride by i.p. injection of sodium fluoride or strontium chloride resulted in a systemic response in which changes occurred in the plasma electrolytes and metabolites. Strontium resulted in a rapid but temporary hypercalcaemia while fluoride produced a temporary hypocalcaemia. There was no significant hypophosphataemia after fluoride and only a transient hypophosphataemia with strontium. There was some indication of kidney damage and a general stress response following fluoride injection. These results do not support the hypothesis that interglobular dentine is associated with hypophosphataemia or hypoplastic enamel with hypocalcaemia and are in conflict with the observation that the formation of interglobular dentine following the injection of lead acetate is associated with hyperphosphataemia and hypercalcaemia.

[Morphofunctional changes in the lysosomal apparatus of the peripheral blood neutrophilic leukocytes in aseptic inflammation]. / Morfo-funktsional'ni zminy lizosomal'noho aparatu neitrofil'nykh leikotsytiv peryferychnoï krovi pry aseptychnomu zapalenni.

The investigation was carried out on 47 adult rabbits. The reaction of lysosomal apparatus of neutrophilic leucocytes of peripheral blood was investigated under conditions of aseptic inflammation, caused by intramuscular injection of formaline. The conclusion is made that neutrophilic leucocytosis and a decrease of lysosomes in neutrophils under conditions of inflammation are nonspecific components of a general adaptation syndrome and result from the vivid granulocytopoesis and leucergy process.

[A symmetry approach to electrocardiogram analysis]. / Simmetriinyi podkhod k analizu élektrokardiogrammy.

A qualitative characteristics of a symmetry of correlations in ECG parameters has been studied in experiments on rats with the adaptation syndrome and hypertonic patients (I-II stages). A geometrical model of cardiac cycle shaped as a rectangular triangle with temporal and amplitude ECG parameters as catheti. A total correlation between the ECG parameters is given: QT--QRS/QT--PQ.RR--PQ/RR--QRS = R--P/R--T = 1,309. In healthy individuals, the deviation from the ideal proportion constitutes less than 5%, and in patients with cardiovascular diseases, the deviations are substantial.

Formalin stress reaction of germfree and conventional mice treated with Bordetella pertussis vaccine.

Germfree and conventional mice responded similarly to pertussis vaccine treatment. In both groups, lymphocytosis and splenomegaly developed in a similar proportion. The formalin stress reaction of germfree and conventional mice with hypertrophic lymphoid organs induced by pertussis vaccine differed from that of untreated mice: the treated germfree and conventional mice showed a acute increase of lymphocytosis without an significant change in splenomegaly.