A recent study conducted by Tomo Nabekura at the School of Pharmacy at Aichi Gakuin University in Nagoya, Japan highlighted the effect of anti-hepatitis C, HIV, anti-hypertensives and anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs) on fetuses.
Nabekura and his colleagues examined the transport of such medications across the placenta, and found that mothers taking them could be increasing the risk of birth defects or stunting fetal growth in their babies.
The findings were published ahead of print in Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, a journal of the American Society for Microbiology (ASM).
"The new research shows that more detailed knowledge of placental drug transport is badly needed,"Nabekura said. "Investigators need to conduct in vivo pharmacokinetic studies of drug transfer in the developing placenta, and pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics in the fetuses."
The ASM is the largest single life science society, made up of more than 39,000 scientists and health professionals. Its mission is to gain a better understanding of basic life processes and to promote the application of this knowledge for improved health and economic and environmental well-being.
