Nickel- and cadmium-induced fetal myocardial changes in the mouse: the hazards of cigarette smoke in pregnancy.

The prolonged effect of nickel chloride and cadmium chloride on the rat fetal myocardium was studied experimentally administered to the pregnant mother through a gastric tube in doses of 12.5 mg/b. wt. It could be demonstrated that, due to nickel administration, changes simulating cardiomyopathy and severe mitochondrial lesions developed and the number of collagenous fibres and glycogen granules accumulated, while as a result of cadmium chloride administration, changes were apparent mainly in the endothelial cells, but with simultaneous mitochondrial impairments, too. Nickel and cadmium are contained by cigarette smoke. Based on experimental studies, authors propose new arguments on the damaging effect of smoking of pregnant women.