Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) News and Research

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Prenatal alcohol exposure impacts brain development and change behavior

Prenatal exposure to alcohol severely disrupts major features of brain development that potentially lead to increased anxiety and poor motor function, conditions typical in humans with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders, according to neuroscientists at the University of California, Riverside.

3 Dec 2013

Beverage coaster campaign reminds pregnant women on dangerous effects of alcohol

Before taking a sip of alcohol at nearly a dozen local bars and restaurants, San Diegans will be reminded of the dangers of mixing alcohol and pregnancy thanks to a beverage coaster campaign led by the new Southern California chapter of the National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (SoCal NOFAS), in partnership with University of California, San Diego School of Medicine.

10 Sep 2013

Alcohol can cause more than one pattern of birth defects

A collaborative research effort by scientists at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Duke University, and University College of London in the UK, sheds new light on alcohol-related birth defects.

23 Aug 2012

Alcohol during pregnancy can be harmful for the developing baby

Experts at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine disagree with a series of new studies from Denmark that suggest consumption of up to 8 alcoholic drinks a week or occasional binge drinking during pregnancy is generally safe for the developing baby.

23 Jun 2012

First Australian clinic to exclusively diagnose and treat fetal alcohol spectrum disorders

Australia will soon have its first screening and diagnostic service for children with alcohol-related birth defects. The service is being set up by The Children's Hospital at Westmead in Sydney amid concerns that thousands of Australian children are suffering from fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD). The disorders are triggered in unborn babies exposed to alcohol consumed by their mothers and are the most common, preventable cause of disabilities and brain damage in children.

21 Jun 2011

Elsevier announces special Issue on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders

Elsevier Inc., the world's leading publisher of scientific, technical and medical information, announced today that Alcohol has published a special year-end double issue on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD). It fills an urgent need to bring the widest possible readership current perspectives on using new research methods to improve identification and diagnosis of offspring at risk for FASD and its associated brain damage and behavioral dysfunction.

13 Dec 2010

Specific orofacial characteristics can lead to accurate diagnosis of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) is an umbrella term that describes the range of effects that can occur in a person whose mother drank alcohol while pregnant. Each year, FASD affect an estimated 40,000 infants in the United States—more than spina bifida, Down syndrome, and muscular dystrophy combined.

22 Sep 2010

Researchers study science and clinical treatment of FAS

It's long been known that alcohol use in pregnancy can lead to children with mental retardation and birth defects, but researchers who study fetal alcohol syndrome have not made definitive progress on preventing the disorder, detecting it early, or effectively treating it, say researchers from Georgetown University Medical Center.

16 Jun 2010

Alcohol is harmful for unborn babies

Learning disabilities, mental health issues and behavior problems are just some of the issues that afflict babies exposed to alcohol in the womb, yet some doctors still tell their patients it is safe to have a drink now and then while pregnant.

5 Sep 2009

Genetics may help explain alcohol-related susceptibility and resistance

Drinking alcohol during pregnancy can lead to teratogenesis, the development of embryonic defects.

22 Apr 2009

Technique that measures human face from 3D facial images may help diagnose fetal alcohol syndrome

Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) is the most extreme expression of alcohol's adverse effects on the developing fetus, and is part of the wider fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD).

25 Sep 2007

Simple eye movement test spots fetal alcohol spectrum disorders

Canadian researchers have found that simple eye movement tests can effectively diagnose fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) in children.

26 Feb 2007

Prenatal exposure to alcohol can change child's circadian rhythms

Altered sleeping and eating patterns, behavioral problems, attention deficits and depression in children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders may indicate that their biological rhythms, which are controlled by circadian systems, have been affected by alcohol exposure during development.

25 Apr 2006

U.S. Surgeon General urges women who are pregnant to abstain from alcohol

U.S. Surgeon General Richard H. Carmona today warned pregnant women and women who may become pregnant to abstain from alcohol consumption in order to eliminate the chance of giving birth to a baby with any of the harmful effects of the Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD).

22 Feb 2005

Agreement on terminology for Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders

"There is so much confusion around what to call the broader effects of prenatal alcohol exposure when a diagnosis of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome cannot be made"

17 Aug 2004