Acute treatment of paternal alcohol exposure produces malformations in offspring

Male rats were intubated only once with either 6, 4, 2, or 0 g/kg alcohol. Food was removed from all animals for several hours after intubation. Males were bred with a single female until sperm was observed in the vaginal smear, for up to a maximum of 7 days after treatment. Females were sacrificed on gestation day 20. There were no significant effects on mating, fecundity, or litter size, but there were significant dose-response increases in "runts" and significant linear associations in the number of malformations in alcohol-sired offspring. A second study using the same methodology found similar results. The results indicate that a single acute treatment with alcohol just prior to breeding may have a significant effect on offspring.