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31 August 2005
Single Dose Of Speed Can Cause Birth Defects 
While medical researchers have known for some time about the range of detrimental effects that methamphetamine can have on the fetus, a new study has discovered that just a single dose can cause long-term problems in the brains of unborn children exposed to it. "We've known for a while that meth abuse during pregnancy is associated with low birth weight, cleft palates and other malformations but this is the first research demonstrating that even a single exposure can cause long-term damage," said researcher Peter Wells. "It's pretty remarkable that a single low dose can have such an effect." Wells and his co-researchers, from the University of Toronto, discovered that a single prenatal dose of speed may be enough to cause long-term neurodevelopmental problems such as reduced motor co-ordination in babies. Their research, appearing in Free Radical Biology and Medicine, found that the developing fetus appears to be vulnerable to DNA damage from methamphetamine exposure because it hasn't yet developed the enzymes that protect it against free radicals. Free radicals are highly activated, destructive oxygen molecules that have been implicated in cancer and various neurodegenerative diseases. Wells said that this vulnerability lasts from the embryonic stage through the later fetal period, times when organ structures and mental functions develop. "People usually think the last trimester of pregnancy is when developing brain function is most susceptible to damage, but in this case the brain is also affected by methamphetamine even in the earlier embryonic period," said Wells. "It's an important finding, given the increasing use of club drugs among women of childbearing age. It has clinical implications, because it shows that the fetus is exquisitely sensitive."
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