ABSTRACT
16.b.1. Krous, H. F., Campbell, G. A., Fowler, M. W., Catron, A. C., and Farber, J. P., Maternal nicotine administration and fetal brain stem damage: a rat model with implications for sudden infant death syndrome, Am. J. Obstet. Gynecol., 140, 743—746, 1981. Female rats consumed nicotine (0.01 to 0.02 mg/mℓ) in their drinking water, 2 weeks prior to conception and throughout gestation. Control animals consumed fresh tap water. Animals were sacrificed on gestation day 20. By time of sacrifice animals were consuming 1.2 and 3.1 mg/kg/day, respectively. Fetuses born to nicotine-consuming animals had significantly more necrotic cells in the brain stem. Effect was not dose-related. Data suggest that nicotine causes fetal brain stem injury which could then be associated with abnormalities in postnatal respiration such as prolonged apnea, possibly resulting in sudden infant death syndrome.
