International journal of developmental neuroscience : the official journal of the International Society for Developmental Neuroscience
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Int. J. Dev. Neurosci. · Jun 2016
ReviewOf rodents and humans: A comparative review of the neurobehavioral effects of early life SSRI exposure in preclinical and clinical research.
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) have been a mainstay pharmacological treatment for women experiencing depression during pregnancy and postpartum for the past 25 years. SSRIs act via blockade of the presynaptic serotonin transporter and result in a transient increase in synaptic serotonin. Long-lasting changes in cellular function such as serotonergic transmission, neurogenesis, and epigenetics, are thought to underlie the therapeutic benefits of SSRIs. ⋯ We review recent evidence indicating that perinatal SSRI exposure perturbs the developing limbic system, including altered serotonergic transmission, neurogenesis, and epigenetic processes in the hippocampus, which may contribute to behavioral domains (e.g., sociability, cognition, anxiety, and behavioral despair) that are affected by perinatal SSRI treatment. Identifying the molecular mechanisms that underlie the deleterious behavioral effects of perinatal SSRI exposure may highlight biological mechanisms in the etiology of mood disorders. Moreover, because recent studies suggest that certain individuals may be more susceptible to the negative consequences of early life SSRI exposure than others, understanding mechanisms that drive such susceptibility could lead to individualized treatment strategies for depressed women who are or plan to become pregnant.
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Int. J. Dev. Neurosci. · Jun 2016
Diabetes during pregnancy enhanced neuronal death in the hippocampus of rat offspring.
Diabetes in pregnancy has a detrimental effect on central nervous system (CNS) development and is associated with an increased risk of short- and long-term neurocognitive impairment in the offspring. This study aimed to investigate the effect of maternal diabetes and also insulin treatment on the numerical density of apoptotic cells in rat neonate's hippocampi during the first two postnatal weeks. ⋯ Our data indicate that diabetes in pregnancy induce the neuronal cell apoptosis in offspring hippocampus. Furthermore, the maternal glycaemia control by insulin treatment in the most cases normalized these effects.