Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 10, 2025
Assessment and Evaluation of the High Risk Neonate: The NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale
Published on: August 25, 2014
Maternal use of methamphetamine alters cardiovascular function in the adult offspring
Adam M Belcher1, Boyd R Rorabaugh1,2
1Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Marshall University School of Pharmacy, Huntington, WV, USA.
Insights
Maternal methamphetamine use during pregnancy may harm offspring's heart health. Prenatal methamphetamine exposure can alter cardiac gene expression and vascular function, increasing later-life cardiovascular risks, with sex-dependent effects observed in rodent studies.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Science
- Developmental Toxicology
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Methamphetamine is a commonly used illicit drug during pregnancy.
- Research on prenatal methamphetamine exposure primarily focuses on neurological outcomes.
- Cardiovascular outcomes in children exposed to methamphetamine in utero are understudied.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the impact of maternal methamphetamine use on the cardiovascular function of adult offspring.
- To highlight knowledge gaps regarding cardiovascular risks from prenatal methamphetamine exposure.
Main Methods:
- Review of recent rodent studies on prenatal methamphetamine exposure.
- Analysis of changes in cardiac gene expression.
- Assessment of cardiac susceptibility to injury and vascular function alterations.
Main Results:
- Prenatal methamphetamine exposure can alter cardiac gene expression in offspring.
- Exposure may increase susceptibility to ischemic injury and affect vascular function.
- Observed cardiovascular changes are sex-dependent in rodent models.
Conclusions:
- Prenatal methamphetamine exposure poses potential cardiovascular risks to offspring.
- Further research is needed to fully characterize these risks.
- Sex-specific vulnerabilities may exist in offspring cardiovascular development.
Abstract:
Methamphetamine is one of the most commonly used illicit drugs during pregnancy. Most studies investigating the impact of maternal use of methamphetamine on children have focused on neurological outcomes. In contrast, cardiovascular outcomes in these children have not been characterized. Recent studies in rodents provide evidence that prenatal exposure to methamphetamine induces changes in cardiac gene expression, changes in the heart's susceptibility to ischemic injury, and changes in vascular function that may increase the risk of developing cardiovascular disorders later in life. Importantly, these changes are sex-dependent. This review summarizes our current understanding of how methamphetamine use during pregnancy impacts the cardiovascular function of adult offspring and highlights gaps in our knowledge of the potential cardiovascular risks associated with prenatal exposure to methamphetamine.
