title: Maternal alcohol consumption before pregnancy and ultrastructure of neurons and interneuronal connections in rat offspring.
abstract: The ultrastructure of neurons and interneuronal connections in sensorimotor cortex have been studied in the offspring at 14- and 21-day-old female rats damaged by alcohol intoxication before pregnancy. We found three categories of ultrastructural changes in cortical neurons and interneuronal connections: delayed maturation of these structures, dystrophic and destructive changes and a signs of compensatory-adaptive processes. The first two categories of neuronal changes more marked at 14 days after birth. Later compensatory-adaptive changes become more significant, but dystrophic and destructive neuronal changes still remained. It is believed, that prenatal hypoxia-ischemia following alcohol consumption by female rats before pregnancy plays an important role in the pathogenesis of alcohol damage in cortical neurons and interneuronal connections in the offspring.
authors.affiliation: Brain Research Institute, Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, Moscow.
authors.forename: E N
authors.initials: EN
authors.lastname: Popova
mesh_terms: D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000009:adverse effects*; D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn / Q000002:abnormalities*; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D005260:Female; D006056:Golgi Apparatus / Q000648:ultrastructure; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000473:pathology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D009474:Neurons / Q000473:pathology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D011247:Pregnancy; D051381:Rats; D013569:Synapses / Q000648:ultrastructure