The secretion of catecholamines in newborn babies with special reference to fetal distress

Little is known about the blood concentrations of catecholamines in the fetus.For some years it has been known that catecholamines can be detected in the adrenal glands of the fetus.WEST et al. [14] reported that noradrenaline is predominant over adrenaline in fetal ages in contrast with the pattern of adult ages, and that the former is also detected in larger amounts in the extramedullary chromaffine tissues, which are the so-called "paraaortic tissues".In WEST'S studies, approximately 90% of the catecholamines in both the adrenals and the paraaortic tissues were found to occur äs noradrenaline before 70 days of postnatal life.On the contrary,GREENBERG and LIND [7] reported that adrenaline and noradrenaline were found in approximately equal amounts in the adrenal glands of early fetuses, when determined by fluorescent techniques.Accordingly, it was considered of interest to study the pattern of blood catecholamine concentrations in fetal ages and compare it with the pattern in adult ages.It has also been reported by several workers that asphyxia in experimental animals causes striking increases in secretions by the adrenal medulla.Thus, one might logically expect an increased production of catecholamines in fetal distress.Indeed, this is precisely one of the major problems beingfacedby the obstetrician or the paediatrician.