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Pregnancy And Fasting: A Case Study

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Coincidence of pregnancy and fasting raised some controversies about physiological condition of mother and fetus. Although Ramadan fasting is optional during pregnancy, many pregnant women choose to fast to participate on social grounds. Little or rare information is available on the association between fasting during pregnancy and kidney’s structure and function of offspring. Total of 80 pregnant rats were divided into two groups: The first control group (C) (n = 40) allowed for free access of food and water throughout gestation. The second group (n = 40) underwent an intermittent fasting for 16 hrs called Ramadan Fasting Type (RFT). In this group, rats had no access to food and water from 4 pm - 8 am. A subgroup of pregnant rats (n =10) …show more content…

Kidney weight at birth was decreased significantly in RFT offspring compared with control, whereas relative heart weight at week 4 was reduced significantly (p ˂ 0.05) in RFT offspring when compared with control one. During kidney development, histological examination indicated delayed nephrogenesis in RFT kidneys presented as less well-differentiated glomeruli, more connective tissue, fewer medullary rays, and immature stages in the form of S-shaped bodies. TUNEl assay showed an increase in apoptotic nuclei from RFT kidney at birth compared with control group. Electron microscopic examination showed that there was no difference between RFT and control groups in regards to proximal tubule development and glomerular filtration barrier. Stereological analysis showed a reduction by ~ 30% in nephron number of RFT animals compared with control animals. Histopathological observations of adult RFT kidneys showed mild glomerulosclerosis (hardening of glomerulus) with thickening in Bowman's capsule in renal cortex and some alterations such as tubular dilatation and infiltration of proteinaceous casts in renal medulla compared with control kidneys. In addition, ultrastructure study showed some alterations in the glomerular filtration barrier presented as fewer and shorter pedicles as well as increased in thickness of glomerular basement membrane. Molecular studies showed that the expression of NHE-3 and ENaC renal sodium transporters were significantly increased in RFT group compared with those of control group at both mRNA and protein levels, while Na+ : K+ ATPase expression were decreased and NKCC2 expression was unaltered. The results showed that HR was comparable between the two groups, whereas, DBP, SBP and MBP were significantly higher in RFT offspring by comparison with control animals. Renal clearance study in conscious animals

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