Rat study traces high blood pressure to nicotine use by pregnant mothers
Published: Wednesday, July 20, 2011, 5:44 PM
A study of pregnant rats helps explain how human fetuses are affected by their mothers' nicotine use, according to a study released today by the British Journal of Pharmacology.
The study attempted to advance previous studies finding that exposure to nicotine while a fetus leads to increased risk of cardiovascular disease as an adult. Its conclusion: that a mother's nicotine use fosters the growth of chemicals in blood vessel walls that in turn alters the vessels' functioning in the fetus.
Though conducted in rats, the study concludes that a similar mechanism occurs in humans, and that altered blood vessel functioning in the fetus can lead to high blood pressure as an adult.
The study was conducted by DaLiao Xiao, PhD, an Assistant Research Professor at the Center for Perinatal Biology of California's Loma Linda University School of Medicine.
-Nick Budnick
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