Antenatal glucocorticoids & renal development in rat

Antenatal glucocorticoids are routinely given to women at risk of premature delivery before 34 weeks of gestation,to decrease the incidence and severity of respiratory distress syndrome. these hormones change the intrauterine environment and program the developing fetus in a different way. materials and methods: 72 pregnant albino rats were divided in to control group a and experimental group b,comprising of 36 pregnant rats in each group. animals in control group were given intraperitoneal injections of normal saline and their experimental counterparts were injected with dexamethasone,for two consecutive days on different gestational days (day11-14 till 21-22day). effects in fetal kidneys were observed after birth at the age of 12 weeks. results; significant reduction in renal corpuscles was noted in fetuses exposed to antenatal dexamethasone. maximum reduction (26.79%) was noted in fetuses from mothers who received dexamethasone on 15th & 16th day of gestation.