title: Developmental toxicity of 4-substituted amphetamines in mice.
abstract: Despite overwhelming and tragic evidence of their detrimental and dangerous consequences, amphetamines remain significant drugs of abuse and addiction. The effects of 4-substituted amphetamines: 4-hydroxyamphetamine (4-HA), 4-methoxyamphetamine (4-MEA), 4-ethoxyamphetamine (4-ETA), 4-propoxyamphetamine (4-PPA), and 4-benzyloxyamphetamine (4-BEA) on intrauterine development, pregnancy outcome, postnatal growth, and survival were compared in Swiss-Webster mice. Single daily doses (0, 50, or 100 mg/kg) of an aqueous solution of different amphetamines were administered on pregnancy days 6 through 18. The 50 mg/kg doses of all amphetamines were well tolerated by the mothers and did not produce any overt signs of maternal toxicity or death. However, a few mothers died on different days of gestation after receiving 100 mg/kg of 4-HA, 4-MEA, 4-ETA, and 4-BEA. The mothers that failed to deliver naturally (3 d after the due date) were killed and their uteri were examined for live/dead fetuses and resorption sites. In comparison with respective controls, the incidence of resorptions was markedly higher in the 4-MEA- and 4-ETA-dosed groups. Delivery was prolonged in the 4-PPA- and 4-BEA-treated dams. Apparently well-formed but dead pups were delivered by 4-HA-, 4-PPA-, and 4-BEA-dosed mice. Marked reductions in average litter size and weight occurred after intrauterine exposure to 100 mg/kg 4-BEA. Treatment with 4-ETA, 4-PPA, and 4-BEA not only resulted in a high incidence of cannibalism within 24 h after birth but also caused an increase in cumulative pup mortality during the first 3 weeks of age. Body weight gain was significantly lower in 3-week-old offspring exposed to 4-HA and 4-PPA than in the controls. The findings suggest that 4-substituted amphetamines exhibit a wide variation in their effects on maternal toxicity and pregnancy wastage, and produce adverse effects on parturition, pup survival, and postnatal development.
authors.affiliation: Bureau of Drug Research, Sir Frederick Banting Research Centre, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: H S
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Buttar
authors.forename: J H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Moffatt
authors.forename: B C
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Foster
mesh_terms: D000662:Amphetamines / Q000633:toxicity*; D000818:Animals; D001835:Body Weight; D005260:Female; D006213:Hallucinogens / Q000633:toxicity*; D008098:Litter Size; D051379:Mice; D011247:Pregnancy; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; D012737:Sex Factors; D010136:p-Hydroxyamphetamine / Q000633:toxicity
chemical_list: D000662:Amphetamines; D006213:Hallucinogens; C065948:4-ethoxyamphetamine; D010136:p-Hydroxyamphetamine; C100230:4-methoxyamphetamine