Low somatomedin C and high growth hormone levels in newborns damaged by maternal alcohol abuse.
To study the mechanism of alcohol-induced fetal damage, we determined the somatomedin C and growth hormone (GH) concentrations of umbilical cord blood samples in 56 infants of alcohol-abusing women and in 20 infants of alcohol-abstinent women. In addition, maternal serum somatomedin C concentrations were determined 1-7 days before delivery. Twenty-five infants born to alcohol-abusing mothers were growth-retarded and also had other signs of fetal alcohol effects, but the remaining 31 infants born to the drinkers and all infants of abstinent mothers were healthy. The somatomedin C levels of infants with fetal alcohol effects (mean +/- SD 4.6 +/- 1.5 nmol/L) were lower (P less than .005) than the levels of healthy infants of drinking (6.8 +/- 4.0 nmol/L) or abstinent (7.1 +/- 3.3 nmol/L) mothers, but the levels did not correlate with infant birth weight, placental weight, or fetal GH or maternal somatomedin C levels. Alcohol drinking was not associated with any changes in maternal somatomedin C levels. The GH levels of infants with fetal alcohol effects (25.4 +/- 22.6 ng/mL) were elevated (P less than .01) when compared with those of infants of abstinent mothers (13.1 +/- 5.3 ng/mL), but did not differ from those of healthy infants of drinking mothers (19.9 +/- 15.1 ng/mL). Low somatomedin C levels and high GH levels in infants born to the drinkers suggest a disharmony in the regulation of the synthesis and/or release of these growth factors, which may be of importance in alcohol-induced fetal damage.
Departments of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Helsinki, Finland.
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Halmesmäki
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Välimäki
S L
SL
Karonen
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O
Ylikorkala
D000437:Alcoholism / Q000097:blood*; D001724:Birth Weight; D005260:Female; D005312:Fetal Blood / Q000378:metabolism*; D013006:Growth Hormone / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007334:Insulin-Like Growth Factor I / Q000097:blood*; D008431:Maternal-Fetal Exchange; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000097:blood*; D013002:Somatomedins / Q000097:blood*
D013002:Somatomedins; D007334:Insulin-Like Growth Factor I; D013006:Growth Hormone