( Cocaine use during pregnancy can cause ...)Cocaine's Use During Pregnancy May Cause Lasting Cellular Effects,Health

Cocaine use during pregnancy can cause subtle but disabling cognitive impairments -- attention deficits, learning disabilities and emotional problems //– Says a recent study by investigators.

The studty Investigators at the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center for Research on Human Development may help explain the long-term behavioral and neurological problems associated with prenatal exposure to cocaine. In a recent issue of the Journal of Neuroscience, Gregg Stanwood, Ph.D., and Pat Levitt, Ph.D., report that prenatal cocaine exposure in rabbits causes a long lasting displacement of dopamine receptors in certain brain cells, which alters their ability to function normally.

Though this effect has not yet been assessed in cocaine-exposed children, the findings give researchers a place to start looking.

'The hysteria surrounding the 'crack baby' was sort of overblown,' said Stanwood, research assistant professor of Pharmacology and lead author on the study.

Incredibly high levels of cocaine -- usually coupled with the abuse of other drugs -- can lead to premature labor, preterm birth and low birth weight, Stanwood said.

'But in women who have abused relatively low recreational doses of cocaine, it is actually very hard to distinguish those children at birth from children born to anyone else,' he said. 'However, as those children age, they do develop deficits in their cognitive and emotional development.'

These children often exhibit attention and arousal problems, similar to children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). However, the standard treatments for ADHD -- Ritalin and other stimulants -- are not always effective in these children.

Studying the effects of prenatal cocaine exposure on the developing brain is difficult in human populations because cocaine abusers often abuse other drugs. Animal models can help determine how prenatal cocaine exposure might influence brain developmen
'"/>




Page: 1 2 3
Related medicine news :

1. Oxygen Usage During Exercise Could Indicate Heart Problems
2. Predicting The Risk Of Preeclampsia During Pregnancy
3. Drugs Taken During Pregnancy Found To Affect Unborn Babies
4. Alcohol Consumption During Pregnancy Not Safe
5. The Importance Of “ Good ”Control Of Diabetes During Pregnanc
6. The Effects Of Dental X-Rays During Pregnancy Questioned
7. The Use Of Antioxidants To Diminish Effects of Alcohol During Pregnancy Questioned
8. Oxygen Consumption During Workouts Could Indicate Heart Problems
9. Folic Acid Supplementation During Pregnancy Could Help Prevent Spina Bifida
10. Being Obese Increases Ones Risk Of A wrong Diagnosis During Medical Imaging
11. Avoiding Drugs During Pregnancy