A selective loss of small-diameter myelinated optic nerve axons in rats prenatally exposed to ethanol.
Pregnant rats were fed an ethanol-containing liquid diet between gestational days 10 and 21. The optic nerves of their litters at 49 days of age were examined using quantitative stereological procedures. Cross-sectional areas of the optic nerve in ethanol-exposed rats were significantly smaller than those in controls. This was reflected in the reduced number of myelinated fibers, but not of non-myelinated fibers. The size distribution histogram indicated a decreased number of small axonal-diameter myelinated fibers in ethanol-exposed rats. The results suggested optic nerve hypoplasia in ethanol-exposed rats characterized by a selective loss of small-diameter myelinated fibers.
Department of Anatomy and Developmental Neurobiology, University of Tokushima School of Medicine, Japan. sawada@basic.med.tokushima-u.ac.jp
Kazuhiko
K
Sawada
Hiromi
H
Sakata-Haga
Suguru
S
Komatsu
Kyoko
K
Ohta
Young-Gil
YG
Jeong
Yoshihiro
Y
Fukui
D000818:Animals; D001369:Axons / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology / Q000502:physiology*; D000431:Ethanol / Q000633:toxicity*; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D009413:Nerve Fibers, Myelinated / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology / Q000502:physiology*; D009422:Nervous System Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000196:embryology*; D009900:Optic Nerve / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology / Q000502:physiology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; D051381:Rats
D000431:Ethanol