Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, including details on pregnancy, birth defects, causes, symptoms, treatment.

Acute effects of ethanol on glutamate receptors.

Möykkynen T, Korpi ER

Institute of Biomedicine, Pharmacology, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland; Department of Biosciences, Division of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.

Several studies have revealed that acute ethanol inhibits the function of glutamate receptors. Glutamate receptor-mediated synaptic plasticity, such as N-methyl-d-aspartate-dependent long-term potentiation, is also inhibited by ethanol. However, the inhibition seems to be restricted to certain brain areas such as the hippocampus, amygdala and striatum. Ethanol inhibition of glutamate receptors generally requires relatively high concentrations and may therefore explain consequences of severe ethanol intoxication such as impairment of motor performance and memory. Effects of ethanol on glutamate system of developing nervous system may have a role in causing foetal alcohol syndrome. Newly found regulatory proteins of α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid AMPA receptors seem to affect ethanol inhibition thus opening new lines of research.

Published 20 June 2012 in Basic Clin Pharmacol Toxicol, 111(1): 4-13.
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Articles on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome published 7 June 2012:

Reversal of lifelong mutism after anterior cervical discectomy and fusion for myelopathy.   BMJ Case Rep, 2011.

A 34-year-old man with a history of spina bifida occulta, fetal alcohol syndrome and mutism presented with an acute on chronic decline of unsteady gait and right arm and leg weakness over the period of a few months. The patient was non-verbal and communicated using hand gestures. MRI of the cervical spine showed severe stenosis at C4-5 with T2 signal abnormalities. Brain MRI demonstrated mild ventriculomegaly. The patient underwent an anterior cervical discectomy and fusion for severe cervical ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome published 18 May 2012:

Prenatal alcohol exposure, blood alcohol concentrations and alcohol elimination rates for the mother, fetus and newborn.   J Perinatol.

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs) are a common cause of intellectual impairment and birth defects. More recently, prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) has been found to be a risk factor for fetal mortality, stillbirth and infant and child mortality. This has led to increased concern about detection and management of PAE. One to 2 h after maternal ingestion, fetal blood alcohol concentrations (BACs) reach levels nearly equivalent to maternal levels. Ethanol elimination by the fetus is ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome published 8 May 2012:

Motion perception in children with foetal alcohol syndrome.   Acta Paediatr.

Aim:  To evaluate the visual magnocellular pathway by a coherent motion perception test in children with foetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). Methods:  Eighty-nine children (49 with verified FAS and 40 without FAS) aged from 10 to 16 years were included into the study. Both the study and the control group were children living in orphanages. A coherent motion perception test was used. The test consisted of 150 white moving dots on a black background presented in different signal-to-noise ratio ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome published 7 May 2012:

Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Preconception Risk Factors and Preconception Care.   J Womens Health (Larchmt).

Abstract Objective: At-risk drinking, cigarette smoking, obesity, diabetes, and frequent mental distress, as well as their co-occurrence in childbearing aged women, are risk factors for adverse pregnancy outcomes. This study estimated the prevalence of these five risk factors individually and in combination among nonpregnant women aged 18-44 years by demographic and psychosocial characteristics, with a focus on racial and ethnic disparities. Methods: Data from the 2008 Behavioral Risk Factor ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome published 5 April 2012:

Glycosylation defects underlying fetal alcohol spectrum disorder: a novel pathogenetic model. "When the wine goes in, strange things come out" - S.T. Coleridge, The Piccolomini.   J Inherit Metab Dis, 35(3): 399-405.

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) is an umbrella term used to describe the craniofacial dysmorphic features, malformations, and disturbances in growth, neurodevelopment and behavior occurring in individuals prenatally exposed to alcohol. Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) represents the severe end of this spectrum. Many pathophysiological mechanisms have hitherto been proposed to account for the disrupted growth and morphogenesis seen in FAS. These include impaired cholesterol-modification of ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome published 4 April 2012:

Children and adolescents with fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS): better social and emotional integration after early diagnosis.   Klin Padiatr, 224(2): 66-71.

[Abstract] [Full-text]

Neuroprotection with metformin and thymoquinone against ethanol-induced apoptotic neurodegeneration in prenatal rat cortical neurons.   BMC Neurosci, 13: 11.

[Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome published 2 April 2012:

The expression of antioxidant enzymes in a mouse model of fetal alcohol syndrome.   Am J Obstet Gynecol, 206(4): 358.e19-22.

[Abstract] [Full-text]

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