title: [Effects of daily administration of a stavudine/nelfinavir association on the fetuses and placentas of female albino rats].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the effect of administration of a stavudine/nelfinavir combination on the rat pregnancy by assessing maternal and concepts weights, as well as the number of implantations, fetuses, placentas, resorptions and maternal and fetal mortality.
  
  
  METHODS
  Forty adult pregnant Wistar rats of the EPM-1 strain were randomly divided into four groups: control (GCtrl--drug vehicle control, n=10), and three experimental groups, which were treated with an oral solution of stavudine/nelfinavir (ExpI--1/40 mg/kg b.w., n=10; ExpII--3/120 mg/kg b.w., n=10; ExpIII--9/360 mg/kg b.w., n=10) from day 0 to the 20th day of pregnancy. Maternal body weights were determined at the start of the experiment and on the 7th, 14th and the 20th day thereafter. At term (20th day) the rats were anesthetized and, upon laparotomy and hysterotomy, the number of implantations, resorptions, living fetuses, placentae and intrauterine deaths were recorded. The collected fetuses and placentae were weighed and the concepts were examined under a stereomicroscope for possible external malformations. Statistical analysis was performed by analysis of variance (ANOVA) complemented by the Kruskal-Wallis test (p<0.05).
  
  
  RESULTS
  There was a progressive and gradual increase in body weight during the course of pregnancy in all groups, which was more evident in the final period, but with no significant difference between groups. The mean number of fetuses, placentas, implantations, and fetal and placental weights showed no significant differences between groups. Also, no resorptions or external malformations were found in the experimental groups. However, between the 8th and 14th days of gestation, there was one case of maternal mortality in each experimental group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The administration of a stavudine/nelfinavir combination had no deleterious effects on the concepts.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Obstetrícia, Escola Paulista de Medicina, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brasil.
authors.forename: Gisela Maria Vieira Rodrigues
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: de Carvalho
authors.forename: Mary Uchiyama
authors.initials: MU
authors.lastname: Nakamura
authors.forename: Ricardo Santos
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Simões
authors.forename: Eliana Maria Restum
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Antonio
authors.forename: Adriana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wagngner
authors.forename: Tereza Maria Pereira
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Fontes
authors.forename: Luiz
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kulay Júnior
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D019380:Anti-HIV Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005260:Female; D005333:Fetus / Q000187:drug effects*; D019888:Nelfinavir / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D010920:Placenta / Q000187:drug effects*; D011247:Pregnancy; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D018119:Stavudine / Q000008:administration & dosage*
chemical_list: D019380:Anti-HIV Agents; D018119:Stavudine; D019888:Nelfinavir