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In Utero Exposure of Venlafaxine: Impact on Maternal, Fetal, Neonatal Weight and Postnatal Growth in Rat Offspring

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Abstract

Venlafaxine (VEN), a newer antidepressant of serotonin and noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor (SNRI) class, is commonly used worldwide for clinical management of various forms of depression even during pregnancy. The maternal and fetal safety of this drug has not been established well so far due to lack of metanalysis studies in clinical settings and controlled investigations in rodents as well as availability of contradictory information. Therefore, present study has been planned to investigate the maternal toxicity in relation to food intake and body weight gain; fetal toxicity as fetal weight at GD-19 and neonatal weight at birth; and postnatal development/growth in young-adult rat offspring. In this study selected doses of VEN (25, 40 and 50 mg/kg) were administered to pregnant rats from GD 5–21 through gavage. These doses were equivalent to human therapeutic dose range (75–375 mg/day). Maternal food intake and body weight gain were found substantially reduced due to drug induced hypophagia. The fetal body weight at GD-19 as well as neonatal birth weight of VEN exposed offspring was found significantly deficient which could not reach up to the control level till 8 weeks as compared to control. This study concludes that prenatal exposure of VEN not only induced maternal weight loss and food intake deficit but also induced long-lasting impact on fetal as well as neonatal development and growth in young-adult offspring. Further, cautions are required for weighing the risks and benefits to both fetus and pregnant mothers before recommendation of SNRIs in general and VEN in particular.

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Acknowledgments

Authors are thankful to HOD, Department of Zoology, University of Allahabad, for providing laboratory facilities.

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Authors declare that they do not have any conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Neurobiology Lab, Department of Zoology, University of Allahabad, Allahabad, India

    Manish Singh & K. P. Singh

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  1. Manish Singh
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  2. K. P. Singh
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Correspondence to K. P. Singh.

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Singh, M., Singh, K.P. In Utero Exposure of Venlafaxine: Impact on Maternal, Fetal, Neonatal Weight and Postnatal Growth in Rat Offspring. Natl. Acad. Sci. Lett. 36, 35–40 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40009-012-0110-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40009-012-0110-2

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