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Does terbutaline damage the developing heart?

Publication ,  Journal Article
Rhodes, MC; Nyska, A; Seidler, FJ; Slotkin, TA
Published in: Birth Defects Res B Dev Reprod Toxicol
December 2003

BACKGROUND: Beta(2)-Adrenoceptor (betaAR) agonists, such as terbutaline, are widely used to arrest preterm labor. They also cross the placenta where they stimulate receptors in fetal tissues, which in turn use betaAR input for trophic control of cell replication and differentiation. METHODS: As rats are altricial, we administered terbutaline in two different postnatal exposure periods (10 mg/kg given daily on Days 2-5 or 11-14). RESULTS: Hearts were examined twenty-four hours after the last dose and on postnatal day 30 for cardiac damage. Neither treatment paradigm caused an increase in cardiac abnormalities compared to controls but quantitative analysis of the number of nuclei indicated reductions in females. CONCLUSIONS: These findings do not support earlier case reports of outright myocardial necrosis after terbutaline tocolysis in human infants. Nevertheless, the significant statistical association between terbutaline and cardiac anomalies in epidemiological studies suggest that terbutaline may sensitize the developing heart to other insults that affect development.

Duke Scholars

Published In

Birth Defects Res B Dev Reprod Toxicol

DOI

ISSN

1542-9733

Publication Date

December 2003

Volume

68

Issue

6

Start / End Page

449 / 455

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Toxicology
  • Tocolytic Agents
  • Tocolysis
  • Time Factors
  • Terbutaline
  • Receptors, Adrenergic, beta
  • Rats
  • Pregnancy, Animal
  • Pregnancy
  • Necrosis
 

Citation

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Rhodes, M. C., Nyska, A., Seidler, F. J., & Slotkin, T. A. (2003). Does terbutaline damage the developing heart? Birth Defects Res B Dev Reprod Toxicol, 68(6), 449–455. https://doi.org/10.1002/bdrb.10043
Rhodes, Melissa C., Abraham Nyska, Frederic J. Seidler, and Theodore A. Slotkin. “Does terbutaline damage the developing heart?Birth Defects Res B Dev Reprod Toxicol 68, no. 6 (December 2003): 449–55. https://doi.org/10.1002/bdrb.10043.
Rhodes MC, Nyska A, Seidler FJ, Slotkin TA. Does terbutaline damage the developing heart? Birth Defects Res B Dev Reprod Toxicol. 2003 Dec;68(6):449–55.
Rhodes, Melissa C., et al. “Does terbutaline damage the developing heart?Birth Defects Res B Dev Reprod Toxicol, vol. 68, no. 6, Dec. 2003, pp. 449–55. Pubmed, doi:10.1002/bdrb.10043.
Rhodes MC, Nyska A, Seidler FJ, Slotkin TA. Does terbutaline damage the developing heart? Birth Defects Res B Dev Reprod Toxicol. 2003 Dec;68(6):449–455.
Journal cover image

Published In

Birth Defects Res B Dev Reprod Toxicol

DOI

ISSN

1542-9733

Publication Date

December 2003

Volume

68

Issue

6

Start / End Page

449 / 455

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Toxicology
  • Tocolytic Agents
  • Tocolysis
  • Time Factors
  • Terbutaline
  • Receptors, Adrenergic, beta
  • Rats
  • Pregnancy, Animal
  • Pregnancy
  • Necrosis