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Structural Changes in Human Brain Tissue in Prenatal Alcoholization at Different Periods of Intrauterine Development

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Objectives. To assess the influences of prenatal alcoholization on the formation of various structural components of the brain in human embryos. Materials and methods. The study examined 26 specimens of embryonic material at 8–11 weeks of intrauterine development. Specimens were divided into four subgroups depending on developmental period (Control 1 at 8–9 weeks of development and Control 2 at 10–11 weeks of development) and maternal medical history (presence or absence of a diagnosis of “alcoholism stages I–II” in the medical history). Morphometry was run on Nissl-stained semithin sections. Diameters and areas of each individual tissue element (neuroblasts, glioblasts, vessels of the micricirculatory bed (MCB)) were determined, along with specific areas (the ratio of the total area of the structure under study to the area of the entire section); mean numbers of these structures per unit area of sections were also calculated. Morphometric analysis was run in AxioVision 4.8 (Carl Zeiss, Germany) and statistical analysis of differences between study cohorts used the Mann–Whitney test (differences taken as significant at p < 0.05). Results: As compared with the intact groups, the alcohol groups showed insufficient increases in the area of MCB vessels, combined with compensatory increases in the numbers of vessels per unit area on sections (48.5 and 83.3 μm2, respectively, p < 0.05). Comparison of glioblast sizes in the control and alcohol subgroups at different stages of development (average area 21.3 and 32.1 μm2; 12.9 and 13.3 μm2, respectively) revealed a delay in the increase in size of cellular structures in alcoholized groups at the initial stages, while comparison of data at later periods revealed no significant difference, though there was an increase in the specific number of cells in subgroup A2 (p < 0.05). Neuroblasts also showed a decrease in cell size with increasing development time in both the control and the alcohol subgroups. However, cell size in group A2 was greater than that in group C2, while the number of these cells was smaller (p < 0.05). Conclusions. Alcohol led to changes in the sizes and numbers of neuroblasts, glioblasts, and MCB vessels and, as a consequence, to disproportionality in the development of all brain tissue. Changes progressed with increasing development time.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Tomsk National Research Medical Center, Russian Academy of Sciences, Tomsk, Russia

    A. V. Solonsky, S. N. Shumilova & N. A. Bokhan

  2. Siberian State Medical University, Russian Ministry of Health, Tomsk, Russia

    A. V. Solonsky, S. N. Shumilova, A. V. Potapov, S. V. Logvinov, A. Sh. Makhmutkhodzhaev & A. A. Zhdankina

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  1. A. V. Solonsky
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  2. S. N. Shumilova
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  3. A. V. Potapov
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  4. S. V. Logvinov
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  5. A. Sh. Makhmutkhodzhaev
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  6. A. A. Zhdankina
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  7. N. A. Bokhan
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Correspondence to S. N. Shumilova.

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Translated from Zhurnal Nevrologii i Psikhiatrii imeni S. S. Korsakova, Vol. 123, No. 6, pp. 100–105, June, 2023.

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Solonsky, A.V., Shumilova, S.N., Potapov, A.V. et al. Structural Changes in Human Brain Tissue in Prenatal Alcoholization at Different Periods of Intrauterine Development. Neurosci Behav Physi 54, 22–26 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11055-024-01563-4

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