Growth patterns of the offspring of alcohol-fed rats

The role of altered glucose metabolism in the growth retardation associated with the Fetal Alcohol Syndrome has been difficult to assess because previously used experimental procedures have frequently substituted ethanol for dietary carbohydrate. Consequently, there is a severe reduction of the carbohydrate content of the diet. This study examined brain and liver development at 7, 15, 21, and 42 days of age in the male offspring of ethanol-fed rats which received a liquid diet in which carbohydrate and protein content were equal to that of the control diet. Ethanol provided 30% of the daily calories and was substituted isocalorically for fats. Body and liver weights of the offspring of these ethanol-fed rats were significantly lower than controls at all ages studied, and the mean brain weight was decreased at 7 and 15 days of age but not subsequently. Brain protein content was significantly lower in the experimental group at 7 and 15 days of age, and liver protein content was reduced at 15, 21, and 42 days of age. The DNA content was not affected in either organ by exposure to ethanol in utero. Increasingly carbohydrate and total caloric intake moderates, but does not eliminate, the effects of maternal ethanol ingestion on offspring growth.