title: Effect of maternal alcohol consumption on cerebellum of rat pups: a histological study.
abstract: Consumption of alcohol during pregnancy results in fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) in newborn affecting the central nervous system which is more sensitive to deleterious effect of alcohol. This study was conducted to observe the histological alterations in cerebellum of rat pups born to alcohol consuming mother rats. Virgin female albino rats were given 20.0% (v/v) alcohol through oral route two weeks prior to mating and continued till the weaning of their offspring. On postnatal day 27 (PND27), rat pups were sacrificed. Their brains were collected and weighed. The cerebellums were isolated and processed for histological study. The diameter of Purkinje cell and width of molecular and granular layers of the cerebellar hemisphere were measured. Results showed significantly decreased brain weight in rat pups of experimental group when compared to control. The diameter of Purkinje cells, width of molecular and granular layers were also found to be decreased in the experimental group. These results suggest that the maternal consumption of alcohol affects the brain growth and induces significant alterations in the histological architecture of cerebellum of growing rats.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Patan Academy of Health Sciences, Lalitpur, Nepal. rajjsat@hotmail.com
authors.forename: S R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Ghimire
authors.forename: A K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Saxena
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Rai
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dhungel
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D002492:Central Nervous System Depressants / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects*; D002531:Cerebellum / Q000473:pathology*; D000431:Ethanol / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D009929:Organ Size; D011247:Pregnancy; D011689:Purkinje Cells / Q000473:pathology; D051381:Rats
chemical_list: D002492:Central Nervous System Depressants; D000431:Ethanol