title: Thyroid hormone levels in rats exposed to alcohol during development.
abstract: Maternal ingestion of alcohol appears to cause a pattern of congenital anomalies with a reduction of pre- and postnatal growth in the offspring. In order to study the possible implication of thyroid function in the effects of pre- and/or postnatal exposure to alcohol, we have studied serum thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3) levels in rats from alcohol-fed mothers during the postnatal period (0-50 days). Blood alcohol levels of ethanol-treated pregnant rats were approximately equal to 20-25 mM and their serum T4 levels were decreased, compared with the pair-fed controls, at 15 and 21 days of gestation. No significant changes were observed in T3 levels. Prenatal alcohol exposure was associated with a decrease in both T4 and T3 levels in pups at birth. Although T4 levels continued reduced in the 40-50 days of the postnatal period, no clear effects were observed on T3 levels during this time. Moreover, the more marked alterations were obtained when the offspring were postnatally and pre + postnatally exposed to alcohol. Significant decreases were found in both T4 and T3 levels following postnatal exposure, except at the 20-25th day when a marked but transient increase in T4 levels was observed. These results indicate that alcohol exposure disturbs the hypothalamo-pituitary-thyroid axis, as measured by T3 and T4 hormone levels, mainly when the rats are exposed during the postnatal period.
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Investigaciones Citológicas de la Caja de Ahorros de Valencia, Spain.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Portolés
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sanchis
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Guerri
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn / Q000378:metabolism; D000431:Ethanol / Q000097:blood / Q000633:toxicity*; D005260:Female; D063647:Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders / Q000097:blood*; D011247:Pregnancy; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D013963:Thyroid Hormones / Q000097:blood*; D014284:Triiodothyronine / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D013963:Thyroid Hormones; D014284:Triiodothyronine; D000431:Ethanol