Female rats rendered diabetics following administration of streptozotocin (40 mg/kg/day I.V.) on the fifth day of pregnancy received daily injections of nicergolin) 200 micrograms/kg/day or 400 micrograms/kg/day I.P.) from day 5 through day 19 of gestation, when animals were sacrificed. It was found that nicergoline significantly reduces the frequency of abortions increases the weight of foetuses and placentas when compared to control diabetic rats. These effects are due neither to a maternal or foetal reduction of glycemia nor to modifications of insulinemia or the levels of sexual hormones of the mother. Histopathological examination of the placentas confirms the positive effect of nicergolin and appears to be due to a direct vascular action.

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PubMedDate not supplied

[Determination of intra-uterine oxygen tension in rats after biovariectomy between the 7th and 12th day of gestation].

In pregnant female rat, oxygen tension was measured in vivo with an oxygen microelectrode and the following statistically significant data (Student's test) were obtained: -- not significant variability in four groups of six control rats; -- highly significant decrease of oxygen tension twenty-four hours after biovariectomy in four groups of six operated rats; -- in twelve operated and treated by substitutive hormonotherapy rats, pO2 was at the same level than in control rats; -- in eighteen operated rats, the oxygen tension measured after embryonic death was identical to control rats. These experiments clearly demonstrate twenty four hours after biovariectomy a decreased oxygen tension. Simultaneously to this decrease, a diminution of uterine blood flow takes place. This pO2 diminution should be dependent on decrease of ovarian hormones since the substitutive hormonotherapy prevents its appearance. A good explanation of this phenomenon is the high requirement of hypoxic embryo for oxygen; moreover after the embryonic death, the intra-uterine pO2 increases.

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