Scientists have found a way to image the early stages of fetal heart development in a study that should explain how drinking during pregnancy can lead to heart defects in a newborn baby..

Researchers in Cleveland, Ohio, have found that "

"

However, researchers at Case Western Reserve University believe research on the tiny fetal heart has been limited and left unknown the causes of congenital heart defects.. But now visualization of these developmental changes has become available..

The technique used to take pictures is called optical coherence tomography.. Its principle of operation is similar to ultrasound, but the result is micron-scale high-resolution images that are obtained using light waves..

In the abstract of the study, the authors wrote: “Several studies have already mentioned the important role of changes in cardiac function at an early stage of embryogenesis, but scientists have not previously been able to analyze the work of such tiny hearts.”.

Similarity to the heart of avian embryos.

To overcome the obvious barrier of experimenting with the effects of alcohol on the hearts of human embryos, the researchers used an animal model, the quail embryo, "

The scientists exposed these embryos to a single high dose of alcohol and compared their cardiac development to that of healthy embryos..

The dose of alcohol used in the study was proportional to the amount of alcohol a pregnant woman could consume while drinking..

In order to look at the effect of alcohol exposure, the scientists used optical coherence tomography, which allowed them to image.

They focused on a certain stage in the normal development of the heart, when the embryo is vulnerable to birth defects.. This stage is called gastrulation and it is the early transition of the heart from the shape of a tube to a loop-like chain.. This happens a few days after ovulation, during which the embryo changes the shape of a tangle of cells, but it has yet to form the primitive neural tube that will give rise to the spinal cord and brain..

Negative effect on blood flow.

Comparing images of blood flow and anatomy at this stage, the researchers found alcohol-induced differences that they could not relate to congenital malformations found in fully developed hearts.. By the time of hatching, the malformations were critical and included thinning of the walls separating the four chambers of the heart and damage to the valves..

The early differences in fetal heart blood flow that led to these malformations also included an increase in the volume of blood flowing backwards after each heartbeat..

Meanwhile, early structural changes have been found in the endocardial cushions of the heart, a collection of cells that later become the walls and valves of the heart chamber..

Mechanical forces.

The authors also cite other studies as their sources.. They show that the development of the heart can be affected by its cells responding to the mechanical forces of blood flow..

They believe that the faulty functions they have discovered may, in turn, direct the development of the organ down the wrong path, setting the stage for the emergence of more serious defects..

In conclusion of their study, the scientists note the importance of gaining a better scientific understanding of fetal alcohol syndrome: “On average, there are about 4 million pregnancies per year in the United States, and of these, about 10,000 cases of congenital heart defects caused by alcohol. Continued study of the mechanisms involved in the development of congenital heart defects is necessary in order to create more effective methods of treatment and prevention..

medbe. en.