Early postnatal behavior deficits after maternal carbon dioxide pneumoperitoneum during pregnancy.
BACKGROUND
In this study, we tested the hypothesis that maternal pneumoperitoneum produces early postnatal behavior deficits in the offspring.


METHODS
Time-dated pregnant guinea pigs were exposed to 45 min of carbon dioxide (CO2) pneumoperitoneum at a pressure of 7 mmHg. There was no manipulation of the control animals. On postnatal days (PND) 10 and 20, the behavior of their offspring was assessed by monitoring the locomotor activity of each of the pups in a 1 x 1 m chamber demarcated into 100 squares. Locomotor data was log-transformed and expressed as mean values (SD).


RESULTS
At PND 10, pneumoperitoneum offspring exhibited significantly higher levels of locomotor activity than the offspring of controls (1.81 +/- 0.48 vs 1.33 +/- 0.78). The pneumoperitoneum pups continued to exhibit hyperactive behavior at PND 20 (1.83 +/- 0.72 vs 1.20 +/- 0.72).


CONCLUSIONS
Maternal pneumoperitoneum produces postnatal hyperactivity in guinea pig offspring, suggesting that there may be long-term consequences associated with the physiologic changes produced in the fetus during CO2 insufflation.
de la Fuente
S G
SG
Department of Surgery, Duke University Medical Center, Box 3479, Durham, NC 27710, USA. sebastian.delafuente@duke.edu
Pinheiro
J
J
Gupta
M
M
Eubanks
W S
WS
Reynolds
J D
JD
D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D000833:Animals, Suckling; D001724:Birth Weight / Q000187:drug effects; D002245:Carbon Dioxide / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000633:toxicity*; D005260:Female; D005333:Fetus / Q000187:drug effects*; D005865:Gestational Age; D006168:Guinea Pigs; D006948:Hyperkinesis / Q000139:chemically induced*; D007327:Insufflation; D008431:Maternal-Fetal Exchange; D011028:Pneumoperitoneum, Artificial / Q000009:adverse effects*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects
D002245:Carbon Dioxide