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Published on: July 13, 2014
A selective loss of small-diameter myelinated optic nerve axons in rats prenatally exposed to ethanol
Kazuhiko Sawada1, Hiromi Sakata-Haga, Suguru Komatsu
1Department of Anatomy and Developmental Neurobiology, University of Tokushima School of Medicine, Japan. sawada@basic.med.tokushima-u.ac.jp
Abstract:
Pregnant rats were fed an ethanol-containing liquid diet between gestational days 10 and 21. The optic nerves of their litters at 49 days of age were examined using quantitative stereological procedures. Cross-sectional areas of the optic nerve in ethanol-exposed rats were significantly smaller than those in controls. This was reflected in the reduced number of myelinated fibers, but not of non-myelinated fibers. The size distribution histogram indicated a decreased number of small axonal-diameter myelinated fibers in ethanol-exposed rats. The results suggested optic nerve hypoplasia in ethanol-exposed rats characterized by a selective loss of small-diameter myelinated fibers.
