Vaping perils
!["Cell Reflections 2," by Laura Bundesen. Bundesen works as sponsored research officer in 欧美AV鈥檚 Office of Foundation Relations and Sponsored Research.](/sites/default/files/styles/1170x780/public/news-images/Cell.Reflections.2.jpg?h=7a6e80fd&itok=B9Uc7huq)
Maternal vaping affects offspring鈥檚 brains, says Associate Professor Jared Schwartzer of 欧美AV.
By Keely Sexton
Electronic cigarettes and other kinds of vaping have revolutionized tobacco use around the world, but they haven鈥檛 changed one central fact of smoking: the danger. Fifteen percent of pregnant women in the United States report smoking e-cigarettes.
Jared Schwartzer, associate professor of psychology and education, recently published his research on the effects that exposure to e-liquid has on the offspring of pregnant mice.
鈥淰aping entered our communities really quickly and without much time to study its health effects. Pregnant individuals are turning to vaping without much science informing them of what the long-term health effects are to their unborn children,鈥 said Schwartzer.
鈥淚 saw this as a great opportunity to help address a public health question in a fraction of the time [it takes for human trials]. In fact, the FDA is right now looking for more science to better inform policies on vaping and we鈥檙e excited to be able to help contribute to that body of research.鈥
The study, which was highlighted on , showed double the levels of an inflammatory cytokine in the cerebellum of the brain in offspring whose mothers had been exposed to e-fluid in comparison to those who hadn鈥檛 been exposed.
鈥淭his research shows that vaping during pregnancy can impact the unborn child鈥檚 behavior and brain function well into adulthood,鈥 said Schwartzer.
Now Schwartzer and team are designing new experiments to better support Food and Drug Administration policies on vaping during pregnancy. One experiment will look at whether vaping just prior to pregnancy has an effect on offspring, as is seen with smoking, and another looks at biomarkers in the blood of pregnant mice after vaping.
鈥淥ur hope is that if we can identify specific markers in the mother鈥檚 blood, that might inform us of what specific components of vaping are causing the most severe effects,鈥 said Schwartzer.