[h=1]Large amounts of mitochondrial toxic agents cross placenta barrier[/h] Date: February 20, 2015 Source: Plataforma SINC Summary: Ten years' worth of scientific studies on mitochondrial toxicity in pregnant women has been reviewed, including exposure to toxic agents such as viruses, certain drugs, pesticides, alcohol and tobacco. These all cause mitochondrial diseases about which very little is known, and which are transmitted from the mother to the fetus. Mitochondria can suffer from two types of disease: genetic or acquired, researchers say.
... The length of the exposure, dose of each toxic agent and stage of the pregnancy in which it is received all make toxicity in pregnant women more probable. There is also a genetic predisposition that can determine whether a person is more resistant or vulnerable to that exposure.
"In the mitochondrial world there are the so-called haplogroups, which determine the genetic makeup of our mitochondria. The haplogroup you belong to can condition your resistance to mitochondrial alterations," Mor?n comments.
With regard to the total number of pregnant women who suffer from mitochondrial toxicity, Mor?n insists that "it is extremely complicated to give an exact figure; we can only assume that there are at-risk populations. For example, in developed countries it is estimated that between 10% and 25% of pregnant women smoke, who would be an at-risk group in suffering this type of toxicity, but it does not mean that they all develop it."
A surmountable barrier
The transfer of mitochondrial toxicity from mother to child can occur at conception (parents' reproductive cells may have been affected) until the end of breastfeeding...
