Fetal alcohol syndrome in the ferret (Mustela putorius).
Gastric intubation of 1.5 g ethanol/kg maternal body weight produced a significant teratogenic response in ferrets (Mustela putorius) treated once daily from gestational days 15 through 35. This response was evident by a rise in the frequency of fetuses with one or more malformations (21%), and by a rise in the frequency of litters with one or more malformed fetuses (50%). Palatoschisis and greater relative intermedial canthi distance observed in this study are diagnostic features of the fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). Although mean (+/- SEM) peak blood alcohol levels of 207 +/- 9 mg/dl did not affect other reproductive parameters, high doses of alcohol (3.0 g/kg) resulted in the inability of treated females to consume adequate food or water, in the complete resorption of litters, and in significant maternal mortality (88%). Fetal deaths occurred prior to gestation day 17 in the high-dose alcohol group. Based on objective evaluation of differences among ethanol-treated, pair-fed sucrose-treated, and untreated ad libitum diet controls, the ferret would seem a valuable alternative animal species for future studies of FAS.
D000820:Animal Diseases / Q000196:embryology; D000818:Animals; D001835:Body Weight; D002335:Carnivora / Q000196:embryology*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D002149:Energy Intake; D000431:Ethanol / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D005289:Ferrets / Q000196:embryology*; D063647:Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders / Q000196:embryology / Q000662:veterinary*; D009929:Organ Size; D011247:Pregnancy
D000431:Ethanol