IMR Press / CEOG / Volume 42 / Issue 5 / DOI: 10.12891/ceog1968.2015

Clinical and Experimental Obstetrics & Gynecology (CEOG) is published by IMR Press from Volume 47 Issue 1 (2020). Previous articles were published by another publisher on a subscription basis, and they are hosted by IMR Press on imrpress.com as a courtesy and upon agreement with S.O.G.

Original Research
Methamphetamine, smoking, and gestational hypertension affect norepinephrine levels in umbilical cord tissues
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1 Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver (Canada)
2 Department of Tropical Medicine, Medical Microbiology and Pharmacology, John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaii, Honlulu
3 Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Women’s Health, University of Hawaii, Kapioloani Medical Center, Honolulu (USA)
Clin. Exp. Obstet. Gynecol. 2015, 42(5), 580–585; https://doi.org/10.12891/ceog1968.2015
Published: 10 October 2015
Abstract

Background: These studies were undertaken to determine methamphetamine (METH) and smoking effects on umbilical vascular dynamics and pregnancy outcomes. Materials and Methods: Umbilical cords (54) were collected prospectively at birth, washed of blood, and stored at -80°C. Cords were thawed and lysates prepared, then catecholamine levels quantified with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results: Catecholamine levels in umbilical cords were not associated with maternal or gestational age, gravidity, parity, neonatal or placental weight. Neither smoking nor METH affected dopamine or epinephrine. However, smoking (two-fold) and METH (four-fold) decreased norepinephrine and together a 60-fold reduction occurred (p = 0.025). Cesarean section and hypertension were both associated with lower norepinephrine levels (p < 0.001) regardless of drug status. In normotensive pregnancies, smoking and METH significantly decreased norepinephrine levels (two-fold and 3.5-fold each, respectively) with a 40-fold decrease for METH/smoking together. Discussion: Depletion of norephinephrine by METH and smoking likely contributes to pregnancy complications, including the higher incidence of respiratory distress and postpartum hemorrhage in cesarean section.
Keywords
Drugs of abuse
Epinephrine
Norepinephrine
Dopamine
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