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Cocaine's effect on plasma oxytocin concentrations in the baboon during late pregnancy
M A Morgan1, M B Honnebier, C Mecenas
1Divsion of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia 19104-4283, USA.
Objective:
The hypothesis for this investigation was that intravenous cocaine would result in an elevation of maternal plasma oxytocin levels in the baboon during late pregnancy.
Study Design:
Five gravid chronically instrumented baboons had timed arterial blood samples obtained before and after an intravenous bolus cocaine infusion at least 5 days after surgery. Plasma oxytocin concentrations were measured by specific radioimmunoassays, and baseline samples were compared with postcocaine samples.
Results:
The plasma oxytocin concentrations were significantly elevated at all sampling times after the 1.0 mg/kg cocaine dose (p<0.05).
Conclusion:
The increased oxytocin concentration after cocaine use may be responsible for the increased incidence of preterm labor.