Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 13, 2026
Targeting the Corticospinal Tract in Neonatal Rats with a Double-Viral Vector using Combined Brain and Spine Surgery
Published on: June 30, 2021
The effects of repeated corticosteroid administration on the neurogenesis in the neonatal rat
Takeshi Kanagawa1, Takuji Tomimatsu, Shusaku Hayashi
1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Osaka University Faculty of Medicine, Osaka, Japan.
Objective:
The purpose of this study is to clarify the effects on the brain including neurogenesis pretreated with repeated doses of dexamethasone in the neonatal rat.
Study Design:
The 4-day-old Sprague Dawley rats were pretreated with 4 different regimens, namely, single administration of dexamethasone, 2-dose administration, 3-dose administration, and saline administration as a control. Concurrently, bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU), which was incorporated into the dividing cells, was administered. We examined body weight, brain weight, and the number of BrdU-labeled cells in the subventricular zone (SVZ), the subgranular zone (SGZ), and the cortex.
Results:
Both the body and brain weight of the rats pretreated with dexamethasone were significantly decreased compared with those given saline. Quantitative analysis of BrdU-labeled cells revealed the significant dose-dependent decreases in the SVZ, the SGZ, and the cortex with the dexamethasone treatment.
Conclusion:
We concluded that the decreases in neurogenesis caused by repeated antenatal corticosteroid therapy might result in the adverse effects on the size of the head at birth.
