Scientists find tobacco wrecks babies’ LIVERS
- Edinburgh University scientists made the discovery after looking at stem cells
- Cigarette smoke was shown to damage those crafted into foetal liver tissue
- But to the surprise of the scientists, the effects were different for boys and girls
- However, both genders can suffer lasting harm by exposure to the chemicals
Stephen Matthews For Mailonline
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A potent mix of chemicals found in cigarette smoke destroys the livers of unborn children, new research shows.
The findings are yet further damning evidence of just how dangerous smoking is for pregnant women.
Scientists made the new discovery after looking at stem cells – non-specialised ones that have the ability to be able to transform into other types.
The toxic compounds in smoke were shown to damage those crafted into foetal liver tissue, mimicking that of babies’.
But to the surprise of the Edinburgh University scientists, the effects were different for boys and girls.
However, both genders can suffer lasting harm by being exposed to the 7,000 chemicals in smoke, experts say.
The new findings back-up an array of evidence which shows how dangerous smoking cigarettes is for pregnant women
Boys showed signs of liver scarring, which leaves them prone to cirrhosis in later life – which can cause liver failure and be deadly if left untreated.
While the cells regulating metabolism in the liver were found to be targeted in girls.
Any changes to the development of the organ of this kind could leave girls vulnerable to becoming overweight as they grow older, research suggests.
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Professor Paul Fowler, director of the Institute of Medical Sciences at the University of Aberdeen, commented on the findings. He said: ‘This work is part of an ongoing project to understand how cigarette smoking by pregnant mothers has harmful effects on the developing foetus.
‘These findings shed light on fundamental differences in damage between male and female foetuses.’
The researchers conducted a study into the effects of cigarettes on developing stem cells.
This enabled them to create a way to monitor the long-term effects caused to liver tissue by pregnant smokers.
Liver cells were exposed to harmful chemicals found in cigarettes, including specific substances known to circulate in foetuses when mothers smoke.
The study showed that a chemical cocktail – similar to that found in cigarettes – harmed foetal liver health more than individual components.
Study author Dr David Hay said: ‘Cigarette smoke is known to have damaging effects on the foetus, yet we lack appropriate tools to study this in a very detailed way.
‘This new approach means that we now have sources of renewable tissue that will enable us to understand the cellular effect of cigarettes on the unborn foetus.’
The study was carried out in collaboration with the Universities of Aberdeen and Glasgow and is published in the journal Archives of Toxicology.
Expectant women are encouraged to give up tobacco use due to the known links it has to a range of medical conditions.
While children face a higher risk of being stillborn or miscarried if their mother smoked during pregnancy.
But it is not illegal for a pregnant woman to harm her unborn child by smoking and drinking.
Some think it should be but others say banning pregnant women from smoking would be a gross intervention by the ‘nanny state’.
More than ten per cent of British women smoke while pregnant and this figure is as high as 27 per cent in some northern cities such as Blackpool.
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