Hypothalamus – Response to early paracetamol exposure in male rats offspring

[Display omitted] •Early paracetamol treatment changes hypothalamic neurotransmission in rats’ offspring.•Drug has a significant effect on dopaminergic and noradrenergic neurotransmission.•Paracetamol affects concentration of glutamic acid in hypothalamus. One of the reasons for using paracetamol during pregnancy is fever. The brain structure responsible for maintaining proper body temperature, but also for controlling some endocrine aspects is hypothalamus. In this study we examined the effect of early pretreatment of paracetamol on hypothalamic neurotransmission in rats’ offspring. We used two-month old rats previously exposed to paracetamol at doses of 5 (P5) and 15 mg/kg (P15) during gestational development and next postnatally. The concentration of monoamines, their metabolites and amino acids in hypothalamus was chromatographically determined. The results of biochemical analysis were compared with the Control animals (Con). We found differences between groups in the concentration of main noradrenaline metabolite in hypothalamus. The control group had significantly higher level of 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol (MHPG) compared with rats exposed to paracetamol (F(2,27) = 7.96, p