Prenatal Cocaine Exposure

Neonates exposed to cocaine may develop abnormalities in the dopaminergic system of the CNS.

Reasearchers have found that prenatal exposure to cocaine can have an effect on the development of the heart and lasting, lifelong adverse effects, especially for males.

Causes

According to research group, the effect of adverse intrauterine environment on fetal heart development and its lifelong pathophysiological consequences in the adult heart. Using an animal model of the pregnant rat, they found that fetal exposure to cocaine during gestation resulted in an increase in heart susceptibility to ischaemia and reperfusion injury in late adult life. Interestingly, the effect of prenatal cocaine exposure on cardiac vulnerability in adult offspring is gender-dependent, with the male heart being more susceptible to increased ischaemia/reperfusion injury induced by prenatal cocaine exposure.

Symptoms

• Abnormal feeding
• Hypersensitivity to stimuli
• Inability to regulate sleep and wakeful states, with rapid transitions from deep sleep to excessive crying and irritability

Signs

• Hypertonia or hypotonia
• High-pitched cry
• Small head circumference

Treatment

Theophylline treatment resulted in normalization of the respiratory pattern and was associated with absence of any (further) clinical events. In summary, infants prenatally exposed to cocaine have a higher incidence of cardiorespiratory pattern abnormalities than do infants with methadone or no prenatal drug exposure.