Ethanol exposure alters early cardiac function in the looping heart: a mechanism for congenital heart defects?

ABSTRACT: Alcohol-induced congenital heart defects are frequently among the most life threatening and require surgical correction in newborns. The etiology of these defects, collectively known as fetal alcohol syndrome, has been the focus of much study, particularly involving cellular and molecular mechanisms. Few studies have addressed the influential role of altered cardiac function in early embryogenesis because of a lack of tools with the capability to assay tiny beating hearts. To overcome this gap in our understanding, we used optical coherence tomography (OCT), a nondestructive imaging modality capable of micrometer-scale resolution imaging, to rapidly and accurately map cardiovascular structure and hemodynamics in real time under physiological conditions. In this study, we exposed avian embr

SUBMITTER: Karunamuni G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3920145 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature