Comparative effects of prenatal cocaine, alcohol, and undernutrition on maternal/fetal toxicity and fetal body composition in the Sprague-Dawley rat with observations on strain-dependent differences.

Abstract

Pregnant rats received either 20, 30, 40, or 50 mg/kg cocaine HCl (SC) twice daily from gestation days 7 through 19. Pair-fed and untreated control groups and a group receiving 3.0 g/kg alcohol (PO) twice daily served as comparison groups. Females were sacrificed on gestation day 20 and the fetuses examined. Maternal weight gain and food consumption showed dose-dependent decreases. Maternal water consumption, by contrast, was significantly increased in the cocaine-treated animals and may reflect a diuretic effect. The maternal mortality rates in Sprague-Dawley rats were less than in two strains of Long-Evans rats, suggesting important strain-dependent differences in susceptibility to cocaine toxicity. Cocaine caused a significant dose-dependent decrease in fetal weights. Physical anomalies in the cocaine-exposed and alcohol-exposed fetuses included occasional hemorrhaging, edema, anophthalmia, and limb reduction. Despite increased maternal water consumption by cocaine-treated dams, there were no increases in fetal body water content. There were, however, significant decreases in fetal body fat content in the pair-fed, alcohol-treated, and two highest cocaine-treated groups.