부산대학교 도서관

Background and aims: The use of antidepressant drugs such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) during pregnancy is increasing to up 2% of pregnant women. It is been shown both in human and in animal models that SSRI exposure during pregnancy can have side-effects on whole organs including Central Nervous System (CNS). In this regard, tremors, irritability, disturbed sleep regulation, feeding problems, neonatal convulsions and respiratory distress have been reported. Therefore, the present study is aimed at investigating whether the concentration in maternal and neonatal biological fluids of a well-established biochemical marker of brain development and damage, namely S100B protein, can vary according to SSRI exposure.Methods: An observational study was conducted in 25 pregnant women exposed to SSRI and in 25 healthy pregnancies as controls. S100B protein was measured at different pregnancy time-points (at 26, 30, 34 wks and at delivery) in maternal blood, at delivery in arterial and venous cord blood and at 24-h after birth in newborns.Results: S100B maternal and neonatal blood concentrations were significantly higher at all monitoring time-points in the SSRI (P< 0.001, for all), whilst proteins' concentrations in healthy mothers and newborns were within normality ranges.Conclusions: The elevated S100B protein concentrations in maternal and newborn bloodstreams suggest that SSRI exposure, in agreement to adults' findings, can exert CNS side-effects both in intrauterine and in post-natal periods. Further investigations aimed at investigating short/long term neurological sequelae in these patients are needed.