image: Drs. Susanne Brummelte and Shane Perrine from Wayne State University receiveve NIH R21 award to observe effects of fentanyl during pregnancy.
Credit: Julie O'Connor, Wayne State University
DETROIT — A new National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant will aid Wayne State University researchers in measuring the effects of fentanyl during pregnancy on maternal behaviors and offspring at birth through early development.
This two-year, $423,500 grant, “Understanding the effects of gestational fentanyl exposure on external morphology, neonatal opioid withdrawal, and brain volume, morphology and neurochemistry of offspring,” is supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the NIH. The principal investigators on this study are Shane Perrine, Ph.D., associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral neurosciences in Wayne State’s School of Medicine, and Susanne Brummelte, Ph.D., professor of psychology in Wayne State’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
“Our labs have collaborated on prior studies and this project is a natural extension of our previous work,” said Perrine. “I was working on the study of illicit fentanyl use and Susie’s lab was looking at the effects of opioids, including morphine and buprenorphine, during pregnancy.”
Both researchers credited a news report and a previous NIH grant received by Brummelte to examine the effects of opioids during pregnancy as what inspired them to explore this area.
“An NBC news report came out that was based on a published study suggesting there’s a new syndrome called fetal fentanyl syndrome related to fentanyl use during pregnancy,” said Perrine. “This was characterized by birth defects such as facial abnormalities, webbed toes and neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome. We wanted to study these effects in our rodent model since it involved both of our areas of study.”
The study will determine the impact of gestational fentanyl exposure on morbidity and mortality, developmental milestones, external morphology, blood cholesterol, brain morphogen signaling, and neonatal opioid withdrawal and related behavioral measures in offspring. The team will also measure brain volume, morphology and the neurochemistry of offspring using magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy in vivo.
“No previous studies used proper animal models to study the effects of fetal fentanyl syndrome,” said Brummelte. “In humans, timing, exposure, the dose and so forth can make interpreting findings difficult so we wanted a more controlled study using the funds from this grant.”
“Developing the animal model will allow us to explore the neurobiological mechanisms that cause these fetal fentanyl syndrome defects,” said Perrine. “We want to see if it is just fentanyl or if there are other factors at play such as polydrug use or genetic predisposition that can contribute to these defects.”
Perrine and Brummelte hope their findings may help mitigate adverse health outcomes of infants exposed to fentanyl during pregnancy.
“Once we find out what specifically is causing these defects, we can start looking for solutions to prevent them or address them,” said Brummelte.
“R21 awards from the National Institutes of Health help support researchers explore new research ideas that could foster innovative ideas that may one day lead to breakthrough discoveries,” said Ezemenari M. Obasi, Ph.D., vice president for research & innovation at Wayne State University. “I look forward to the findings that Drs. Perrine and Brummelte will have that may lead to new knowledge about the impact of fentanyl on unborn children.”
The award number for this grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health is R21DA062066.
About Wayne State University
Wayne State University is one of the nation’s pre-eminent public research universities in an urban setting. Through its multidisciplinary approach to research and education, and its ongoing collaboration with government, industry and other institutions, the university seeks to enhance economic growth and improve the quality of life in the city of Detroit, state of Michigan and throughout the world. For more information about research at Wayne State University, visit research.wayne.edu.
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