Biomedical subjects

J C Glantz

Publications and source records attributed to J C Glantz.

22 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

PubMed1991

Obstetrical issues in substance abuse.

Substance abuse complicates between 10% and 25% of pregnancies, and has been associated with increased perinatal morbidity and mortality. The mechanisms of action of certain drugs predispose to specific types of complications, but the explanations for obstetrical effects of other drugs are more obscure. It is often difficult to differentiate the effects of drugs from the socioeconomic issues surrounding the drug abuser. There is no doubt, however, that the infants of pregnant drug abusers suffer from increased risks of low birthweight, preterm delivery, possible teratogenic effects, fetal dependence and withdrawal, and possible neurobehavioral effects. Health-care providers must encourage these patients to seek prenatal care early and to continue care throughout pregnancy. With a coordinated system for antenatal monitoring and support, these risks hopefully can be decreased and the perinatal outcome improved.

Female↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Does progesterone potentiate the in vitro effect of cocaine on papillary myocardium in Long-Evans rats?

Cocaine's cardiotoxicity was reported in our laboratory to be augmented by progesterone. This study was designed to replicate these findings and determine the mechanism. Rats were pretreated with progesterone (study) or vehicle (control). Papillary muscles were attached to transducers in Krebs' baths. Paced contractility parameters were measured while increasing concentrations of cocaine, norepinephrine, or tetrodotoxin were added. In nine baths, yohimbine was added before the cocaine. Twelve rats were pretreated with reserpine, and cocaine added to the baths. In muscles from nonreserpinized control rats, there was a small positive inotropic effect (8.6% above baseline) at 10(-6) M cocaine, not seen in study muscles. There were no differences between study and control muscles in cocaine concentrations at which muscles became acontractile, nor in responses to norepinephrine, tetrodotoxin, or to cocaine after the addition of yohimbine or following reserpine pretreatment. We could not replicate cocaine's previously reported increased negative inotropic effect in progesterone-treated rats, nor was there evidence supporting possible mechanisms for this reported effect.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Cocaine LD50 in Long-Evans rats is not altered by pregnancy or progesterone.

Progesterone increases cocaine's cardiovascular toxicity in sheep and rats. To determine whether progesterone enhances the lethality of cocaine, nonpregnant female rats were treated with either IM progesterone (P4) or vehicle, and pregnant rats (Preg) were untreated. The rats received one IP injection of cocaine at a dose between 25-75 mg/kg and were observed for seizures and/or death. All 62 rats that died did so within 17 min, preceded by seizures in 90.3%. Mean times-to-seizure and times-to-death, and mean lethal serum cocaine concentrations did not differ among groups. Serum progesterone levels (ng/ml +/- SEM) at the time of death were different among groups: 24 +/- 1.7 (C), 102 +/- 6.4 (P4), and 139 +/- 5.2 (Preg). Logistic regression dose/fatality curves, LD50s, and LD10s for the pregnant, progesterone, and control groups were not significantly different from one another. Though progesterone has enhanced cocaine's cardiac toxicity in some studies, it does not increase the risk of death from acute cocaine exposure in rats.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Significance of echogenic foci in the left ventricle of the fetal heart in a low-risk population.

OBJECTIVE: To determine if there exists a significant association between prenatally detected left ventricular echogenic foci and chromosomal abnormalities. METHODS: Over a 10-month period the presence of intracardiac echogenic foci was recorded on all low-risk patients referred for anatomical assessment. The study group consisted of 113 singleton fetuses and was compared to a control group with no foci. RESULTS: Among the study group with echogenic foci, 5 chromosomal abnormalities (three trisomies) were detected. In the control group only one chromosomal abnormality was diagnosed. CONCLUSION: An association exists between the finding of intracardiac echogenic foci in the fetus and the presence of chromosomal abnormalities.

Adult↗