Substance use and infant outcomes in pregnant women with mood and anxiety disorders

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Abstracts / Neurotoxicology and Teratology 29 (2007) 395–414

performance. In the present study, we investigated the effects of adolescent exposure to tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) on rats in both active and passive avoidance tasks. Male and female Sprague Dawley rats (n = 32, to date) were dosed via intraperitoneal injection with either THC at 2 mg/kg or vehicle daily during post-natal days 22–40 or days 41–60. Animals were subsequently run as young adults on active and passive shuttle box avoidance tasks, as well as on an active place avoidance task using Biosignal, Inc equipment. Active avoidance data showed significant group differences which were dependent upon gender and the time of THC exposure. Male rats dosed with THC during early adolescence showed impaired performance on avoidance tasks compared to male control rats. However, female rats dosed with THC during early adolescence demonstrated an enhanced performance over control females on avoidance tasks including an increased ability to actively avoid foot shock on days two and three of three consecutive testing days (p = .064 and .025, respectively). These data suggest that THC may, in fact, enhance performance on avoidance tasks in females while it impairs performance in males. Supported by NIH grant RO1 DA019348.

with case status to increase the prevalence of shorter infant length in Caucasian mothers with mood/anxiety disorders. Focusing on decreasing substance use among Caucasian women with mood/anxiety disorders may have a large public health impact on improving fetal outcomes. Supported by NIMH (MH060335 PI: K. Wisner) and NIAAA (T32-AA07453 PI: M. Cornelius). doi:10.1016/j.ntt.2007.03.008

NBTS 5 Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD)-biomarkers of exposure and effect S.W. Jacobsona, C.F. Bearerb, M.E. Stantonc , M.J. Burdena, C.D. Moltenod, E.M. Meintjesd, J.L. Jacobsona a Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit MI, United States b Case Western Reserve University, United States c University of Delaware, United States d University of Cape Town, South Africa

doi:10.1016/j.ntt.2007.03.007

NBTS 4 Substance use and infant outcomes in pregnant women with mood and anxiety disorders M.B. Kelly, M.D. Cornelius, K.L. Wisner University of Pittsburgh, School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Pittsburgh, PA, United States We compared substance use in early pregnancy and birth outcomes between 147 cases with primary mood and/or anxiety disorders and 70 controls. Women were recruited during mid-pregnancy from Magee-Womens Hospital in Pittsburgh, PA (2003–06), and were predominantly Caucasian, married, and college-educated. Measures included age, race, education, parity, marital status, past antidepressant use, past/current alcohol, cannabis or cocaine use, past physical/ sexual abuse, and birth outcomes (gestational age, birth weight, body length, head circumference). Cases and controls did not differ in age, race, parity, education, marital status, or birth outcomes. Cases had more past antidepressant use (63% vs. 6%), alcohol use (53% vs. 25%), drug use (44% vs. 22%), and physical/sexual abuse (43% vs. 13%) than controls (p < 0.05). Cases were more likely to use alcohol (35%) and drugs (15%) in early pregnancy than controls (28% and 4%, respectively) (p < 0.05). Among the Caucasian women with substance use, cases had babies with shorter birth length (49 cm) than controls (47 cm) (p < 0.05); all other birth outcomes were similar. Minority women who used substances had similar rates of all birth outcomes. Pregnant women with primary mood/anxiety disorders were more likely to use substances. Among substance-using women, race interacted

Research on FASD has been hampered by difficulties involved in the ascertainment of exposure, which depends on maternal recall of pregnancy drinking, and a lack of specificity in the cognitive and behavioral deficits associated with the disorder. We present data on the validity of using fatty acid ethyl esters, metabolites of alcohol that are deposited in meconium, as a biomarker of fetal alcohol exposure in relation to both maternal report and infant outcome in our cohort of Cape Town children exposed to high levels of alcohol in utero. Magnitude comparison and eyeblink conditioning are two neurobehavioral endpoints that appear to be promising as biomarkers of fetal alcohol effects. Data from our Detroit cohort of children exposed to alcohol at moderate-to-heavy levels during pregnancy suggest that arithmetic is compromised in FASD primarily due to an impairment in rudimentary magnitude comparison, a component of number processing identified by Dehaene. Moderator variables, including maternal age and the absence of the ADH1B⁎3 allele, have been found to increase the likelihood of alcohol-related impairment. These biomarkers of effect and exposure and effect modifiers have the potential to improve early identification of individuals at risk for FASD. Research focusing on biomarkers of effect also has the potential to advance our understanding of the pathophysiology of FASD. Supported by NIAAA (RO1-AA09524 and U01-AA014790) and the NIH Health Office of Research on Minority Health; NIEHS/EPA (P01 ES11261), AAMC/CDC/ATSDR Cooperative Agreement (MM-0122-02/02); the Foundation for Alcohol Related Research, Cape Town, South Africa; and the Joseph Young, Sr., Fund from the State of Michigan. doi:10.1016/j.ntt.2007.03.009