B
. EXPERIMENTAL ANIMAL EXPOSURE AND EFFECTS
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Adult male sperm quantity and quality was decreased following inhalation exposure of rats during adulthood; co-treatment with vitamin E offered some protective effects (42).
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The nutritional status of exposed pregnant rats may influence the effects of inhalation exposure to formaldehyde on fetal health. One study reported that inhalation exposure of pregnant iron-deficient rats to formaldehyde resulted in a greater incidence of malformations in fetuses, as compared to pregnant iron-sufficient control rats (24).
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There was no observed increase in resorption (death) of fetuses or fetal malformations following formaldehyde ingestion exposure in mice (43), inhalation exposure in rats (44), or dermal exposure in hamsters (45).
< One study reported changes in a region of the brain following neonatal inhalation exposure of rats to formaldehyde from birth for 30 days, and some of these changes were significant in adulthood, after formaldehyde exposure was stopped (46). This study reported significantly increased volume of the dentate gyrus region of the brain at 30 days of age, and significantly decreased numbers of granule cells in this region at 90 days of age (adulthood) (46).