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. | ||||||
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Cingulate gyrus morphology in children and adolescents with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders.Bjorkquist OA, Fryer SL, Reiss AL, Mattson SN, Riley EP Center for Behavioral Teratology, Department of Psychology, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, USA. Alcohol consumption during pregnancy can lead to a variety of cognitive and other birth defects, collectively termed fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD), and including the Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS). This study examined the impact of gestational alcohol exposure on the morphology of the cingulate gyrus, given this region's role in cognitive control, attention, and emotional regulation, all of which are affected in children with FASD. Thirty-one youth (ages 8-16) with histories of heavy prenatal alcohol exposure (n=21) and demographically matched comparison subjects (n=10) underwent structural magnetic resonance imaging. The cingulate gyrus was manually delineated, and parcellated volumes of grey and white matter were compared across groups. Alcohol-exposed individuals had significantly smaller raw cingulate grey matter, white matter, and tissue volumes compared with controls. After adjustment for respective cranial tissue constituents, only white matter volumes remained significantly reduced, and this held regardless of whether or not the child qualified for a diagnosis of FAS. A correlation between posterior cingulate grey matter volume and the WISC-III Freedom from Distractibility Index was also observed in alcohol-exposed children. These data suggest that cingulate white matter is compromised beyond global white matter hypoplasia in alcohol-exposed individuals, regardless of FAS diagnosis. The observed volumetric reductions in the cingulate gyrus may contribute to the disruptive and emotionally dysregulated behavioral profile commonly observed in this population. Published 1 February 2010 in Psychiatry Res, 181(2): 101-107. Articles on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome published 1 February 2010: Predictors of risk of alcohol-exposed pregnancies among women in an urban and a rural area of South Africa. Soc Sci Med, 70(4): 534-542. The study sought to determine the prevalence and predictors of being at risk of an alcohol-exposed pregnancy (AEP) among women of child-bearing age in an urban and rural location in South Africa. We conducted a cross-sectional household survey of 1018 women aged 18-44 years in one urban (n=606) and one rural (n=412) site. The women were interviewed using a structured questionnaire. We defined the primary dependent variable, being at risk of having an AEP, as current alcohol use, not being ... [Abstract] [Full-text] A review of facial image analysis for delineation of the facial phenotype associated with fetal alcohol syndrome. Am J Med Genet A, 152(2): 528-36. The facial anomalies associated with fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), some of which are also present in individuals with less severe forms of the broader category of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD), are typically identified with the aid of linear distance measurements taken between facial landmarks. Digital facial imaging methods are increasingly being used in syndrome delineation. Distance measurements derived from stereo-photogrammetry and facial surface imaging have been used to study ... [Abstract] [Full-text] Articles on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome published 22 January 2010: Reversal of alcohol-induced learning deficits in the young adult in a model of fetal alcohol syndrome. Obstet Gynecol, 115(2): 350-6. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether treatment with neuroprotective peptides to young adult mice prenatally exposed to alcohol reverses alcohol-induced learning deficits in a mouse model of fetal alcohol syndrome, whether the mechanism involves the N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) and gamma-aminobutyric acid type A (GABAA) receptors, and whether it is related to glial cells. METHODS: C57Bl6/J mice were treated with alcohol (0.03 ml/g) or placebo on gestational day 8. On day 40, male mice exposed to ... [Abstract] [Full-text] Articles on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome published 19 January 2010: Maternal ethanol consumption alters the epigenotype and the phenotype of offspring in a mouse model. PLoS Genet, 6(1): e1000811. Recent studies have shown that exposure to some nutritional supplements and chemicals in utero can affect the epigenome of the developing mouse embryo, resulting in adult disease. Our hypothesis is that epigenetics is also involved in the gestational programming of adult phenotype by alcohol. We have developed a model of gestational ethanol exposure in the mouse based on maternal ad libitum ingestion of 10% (v/v) ethanol between gestational days 0.5-8.5 and observed changes in the expression of ... [Abstract] [Full-text] Articles on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome published 18 January 2010: Magnetic resonance microscopy defines ethanol-induced brain abnormalities in prenatal mice: effects of acute insult on gestational day 7. Alcohol Clin Exp Res, 34(1): 98-111. BACKGROUND: This magnetic resonance microscopy (MRM)-based report is the second in a series designed to illustrate the spectrum of craniofacial and central nervous system (CNS) dysmorphia resulting from single- and multiple-day maternal ethanol treatment. The study described in this report examined the consequences of ethanol exposure on gestational day (GD) 7 in mice, a time in development when gastrulation and neural plate development begins; corresponding to the mid- to late third week ... [Abstract] [Full-text] Articles on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome published 11 January 2010: Prenatal alcohol exposure alters the patterns of facial asymmetry. Alcohol. Directional asymmetry, the systematic differences between the left and right body sides, is widespread in human populations. Changes in directional asymmetry are associated with various disorders that affect craniofacial development. Because facial dysmorphology is a key criterion for diagnosing fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), the question arises whether in utero alcohol exposure alters directional asymmetry in the face. Data on the relative position of 17 morphologic landmarks were obtained from ... [Abstract] [Full-text] Articles on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome published 8 January 2010: Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) are the leading preventable causes of developmental disabilities with serious permanent consequences. Regardless of the increased awareness of fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), 13% of women in the United States drink alcohol during pregnancy. Health care professionals do not routinely assess the frequency and quantity of alcohol use by their patients. This study examined the knowledge, skills, and practices of family medicine residency and clerkship directors ... [Abstract] [Full-text] Articles on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome published 7 January 2010: Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) are a common cause of developmental disability, birth defects, and mortality. The performance characteristics of current diagnostic tools for FASD are not adequately reported. This study examines the performance characteristics of the Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Diagnostic Checklist (FASDC). In a population of 658 subjects from North Dakota, we used the FASDC score to examine the agreement between FASDC score, clinical diagnosis, and the Institute of Medicine ... [Abstract] [Full-text] © 2005-2010 Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Research Today. All Rights Reserved. |
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