Abnormal Development - TORCH Infections

Introduction

Materal effects should really be called environmental (in contrast to genetic) removing the association of mother with the deleterious agent. Accepting this caveat, there are several maternal effects from lifestyle, environment and nutrition that can be prevented or decreased by change which is not an option for genetic effects.

Infections, collectively grouped under the acronym TORCH for Toxoplasmosis, Other organisms (parvovirus, HIV, Epstein-Barr, herpes 6 and 8, varicella, syphilis, enterovirus) , Rubella, Cytomegalovirus and Hepatitis. See related pages on Maternal Hyperthermia and Bacterial infections.

Maternal diet the best characterised is the role of low folic acid and Neural Tube Defects (NTDs) see also Abnormal neural development and Neural Tube Defects and the sample environmental effects listed below.

Maternal drugs effects either prescription drugs (therapeutic chemicals/agents, thalidomide limb development), non-prescription drugs (smoking), and illegal drugs (Cannabis/Marijuana, Methamphetamine/Amphetamine, Cocaine, Heroin, Lysergic Acid Diethylamide)

Environment (smoking, chemical, heavy metals) and maternal endocrine function (maternal diabetes, thyroid development) and maternal stress.

Different environmental effects can act individually or in combination on the same developing system. For example, neural development can be impacted upon by alcohol (fetal alcohol syndrome), viral infection (rubella) and/or inadequate dietry folate intake (neural tube defects). These effects may also not be seen as a direct effect on a system or systems but result in a reduced birth weight and the potential postnatal developmental effects.

Finally, when studying this topic remember the concept of "critical periods" of development that will affect the overall impact of the above listed factors. This can be extended to the potential differences between prenatal and postnatal effects, for example with infections and outcomes.

Some Recent Findings

• Developmental toxicity of pharmaceuticals using human embryonic stem cells and metabolomics. "Teratogens, substances that may cause fetal abnormalities during development, are responsible for a significant number of birth defects. Animal models used to predict teratogenicity often do not faithfully correlate to human response. Here, we seek to develop a more predictive developmental toxicity model based on an in vitro method that utilizes both human embryonic stem (hES) cells and metabolomics to discover biomarkers of developmental toxicity."

References

Search Pubmed

June 2010 "TORCH Infections" All (183) Review (37) Free Full Text (18)

Search Pubmed: TORCH Infections | maternal infections | teratogens

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Cite this page: Hill, M.A. (2024, April 26) Embryology Abnormal Development - TORCH Infections. Retrieved from https://embryology.med.unsw.edu.au/embryology/index.php/Abnormal_Development_-_TORCH_Infections

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© Dr Mark Hill 2024, UNSW Embryology ISBN: 978 0 7334 2609 4 - UNSW CRICOS Provider Code No. 00098G