Scientists who exposed pregnant rats to a synthetic cannabinoid that activates the same receptors in the brain as marijuana detected effects of the drug on their offspring, such as cardiovascular problems in females and augmented susceptibility to panic attacks in males, and showed that these adverse effects persisted into adulthood. An article on the study is published in the American Journal of Physiology – Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology . The findings serve as a precautionary note on the medicinal or recreational use of cannabis during pregnancy, the authors conclude.
The study was conducted with FAPESP's support by researchers affiliated with São Paulo State University (UNESP) and the University of São Paulo (USP) in Brazil. Previous research by the same group demonstrated the effects of intrauterine exposure to the cannabinoid on newborn and young rats ( read more at: agencia.fapesp.
br/41209 ). "We observed long-term alterations to behavior and above all to cardiorespiratory function in the animals that were exposed to the cannabinoid while they were still in the womb. The alterations were different in males and females," said Luis Gustavo Patrone, first author of the article.
The study was part of his PhD research, which was supported by a scholarship from FAPESP while he was a doctoral candidate at the School of Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences (FCAV-UNESP) in Jaboticabal, São Paulo state, where he is now a postdoctoral fellow. In contrast with the .