Wayne State researchers are studying the effects of fentanyl use during pregnancy

Wayne State researchers are studying the effects of fentanyl use during pregnancy

A new NIH grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will help researchers at Wayne State University measure the effects of fentanyl during pregnancy on maternal behavior and offspring at birth through early development.

This two-year, $423,500 grant, “Understanding the Effects of Gestational Fentanyl Exposure on External Morphology, Opioid Withdrawal, and Brain Volume, Morphology, and Neurochemistry of Offspring,” is supported by the NIH's National Institute on Drug Use. The principal investigators of this study are Shane Perrine, Ph.D., associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral neuroscience at Wayne State's School of Medicine, and Susanne Brummelte, Ph.D., professor of psychology at Wayne State's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Our laboratories have collaborated on previous studies and this project is a natural extension of our previous work. I worked on studying illicit fentanyl use and Susie's lab studied the effects of opioids, including morphine and buprenorphine, during pregnancy. “

Shane Perrine, Ph.D., associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral neuroscience at Wayne State's School of Medicine

Both researchers have credited a news report and a previous NIH grant from Brummelte to study the effects of opioids during pregnancy as what inspired them to explore this area.

"An NBC News report emerged that was based on a published study indicating that there is a new syndrome called Fetal Fentanyl Syndrome associated with fentanyl use during pregnancy," Perrine said. "This has been characterized by birth defects such as facial anomalies, webbed toes, and neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome. We wanted to examine these effects in our rodent model since it involves both areas of study."

The study will examine the impact of gestational fentanyl exposure on morbidity and mortality, developmental milestones, external morphology, blood cholesterol, brain morphogen signaling, and neonatal opioid withdrawal and associated behavioral measures in offspring. The team will also measure brain volume, morphology and neurochemistry of offspring using magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy in vivo.

“No previous studies used appropriate animal models to study the effects of fetal fentanyl syndrome,” Brummelte said. “In humans, timing, exposure, dose, etc. can make results difficult to interpret, so we wanted a controlled study using the resources from this grant.”

“The development of the animal model allows us to study the neurobiological mechanisms that cause these fetal fentanyl syndrome defects,” said Perrine. “We want to see whether it is just fentanyl or whether other factors such as polydrug or genetic predisposition may contribute to these defects.”

Perrine and Brummelte hope their findings can help reduce the negative health outcomes of infants exposed to fentanyl during pregnancy.

“Once we figure out what specifically causes these deficiencies, we can look for solutions to prevent them or address them,” Brummelte said.

“R21 awards from the National Institutes of Health help support researchers exploring new research ideas that could foster innovative ideas that may one day lead to breakthrough discoveries,” said Ezemenari M. Obasi, Ph.D., vice president for research and innovation at Wayne State University. “I look forward to Dr. Perrine and Brummelte’s findings leading to new knowledge about the effects of fentanyl on unborn children.”

The award number for this grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health is R21DA062066.

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