The Effects of Smoking on Steroid Metabolism and Fetal Programming.
The effects of smoking on steroid metabolism and fetal programming.
J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol. 2013 May 14;
Dušková M, Hruškovi?ová H, Sim?nková K, Stárka L, Pa?ízek A
Tobacco addiction is a serious psychosocial and health problem. A pregnant woman who smokes not only influences the maternal organism, but also passes health risks on to the unborn child. A fetus exposed to maternal smoking is not only directly influenced, but is also endangered by a wide range of diseases up to his or her adult years. The components of tobacco smoke play a significant role in the development of a number of diseases for a large proportion of the smoking population, as well as among those pregnant. This article summarizes findings regarding the impacts on the production of steroid hormones-first describing the smoking-related changes in steroidogenesis in women, and then focusing on the influence of maternal smoking on the fetus’s developing steroidogenesis. We assume that if during prenatal development the fetus has already been exposed to the effect of endocrine disruptors at the time fetal steroidogenesis begins fetal programming, this exposure can have serious pathophysiological effects both in the pregnancy as well as later in life. An example of such effects might be a delay in the creation of kidney adrenal androgens, which could also be evident on the level of steroid neuroactive metabolites that may influence the individual’s psychological state and lead to later addictions. HubMed – addiction
Altered functional connectivity of the insular cortex across prefrontal networks in cocaine addiction.
Psychiatry Res. 2013 May 16;
Cisler JM, Elton A, Kennedy AP, Young J, Smitherman S, Andrew James G, Kilts CD
Interoception is theorized to be an important process mediating substance use disorders, and the insular cortex is recognized as a core neural region supporting interoception. The purpose of this study was to compare the integration of the insular cortex into prefrontal-related resting-state networks between individuals with cocaine dependence and healthy controls. Participants comprised 41 patients with cocaine dependence and 19 controls who underwent a resting-state 3-T functional magnetic resonance imaging scan. Individuals with cocaine dependence demonstrated altered functional connectivity of the insular cortex, predominantly the right insular cortex, with all eight prefrontal-related resting-state networks identified through Independent Component Analysis (ICA). A conjunction analysis demonstrated that the right insular cortex was the neural region with the highest number of common group differences across the networks. There was no evidence that insular cortex connectivity commonly differed between groups for non-prefrontal-related networks. Further, seed-based functional connectivity analyses extended the network analyses and indicated that cocaine dependence was associated with greater connectivity of the right insula with the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, inferior frontal gyrus, and bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. These data support the hypothesis that cocaine dependence is related to altered functional interactions of the insular cortex with prefrontal networks. The results suggest possible neural mechanisms by which the insular cortex and interoceptive information influence cognitive control and decision-making processes presumably mediated by prefrontal networks in the cocaine dependence process. HubMed – addiction
Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors as Therapeutic Targets: Emerging Frontiers in Basic Research and Clinical Science – Editorial Comments.
Biochem Pharmacol. 2013 May 14;
Dani JA, Donnelly-Roberts D, Bertrand D