Research

Much of the following research is provided courtesy of EUFASD for which we are grateful.

13 March 2023

Alcohol: Clinical and Experimental Research – Disrupted dynamic functional network connectivity in fetal alcohol spectrum disorders
Our results indicate important resting-state dFNC differences exist in children with FASD. Participants with FASD exhibited increased dynamic fluidity and dynamic range and spent more time in states typified by anticorrelation within and between DMN and VN, and more time in a state typified by high internetwork connectivity.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/acer.15046

Pielęgniarstwo w Opiece Długoterminowej – What should students know about FAS when they help people with alcohol dependence?
Efforts should be made to increase public awareness of the risks of using drugs during pregnancy. The increased level of knowledge will affect not only the health behavior of patients, but may also improve the early diagnosis of FAS.
http://ltcn.eu//What-should-students-know-about-FAS-when-they-help-people-with-alcohol-dependence-,150,50243,0,1.html

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health – Rethinking Local Economic Development for Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder in Renosterberg Local Municipality, South Africa
Two towns in Renosterberg Local Municipality (RLM) in the Northern Cape Province of South Africa, Petrusville and Philipstown, have high Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) prevalence rates.
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/5/4492

The FASEB Journal – Mitigating the detrimental developmental impact of early fetal alcohol exposure using a maternal methyl donor-enriched diet
This study clearly supports that preimplantation embryos are vulnerable to the teratogenic effects of alcohol, emphasizes the dangers of maternal alcohol consumption during early gestation, and provides a potential proactive maternal nutritional intervention to minimize FASD progression, reinforcing the importance of adequate preconception and prenatal nutrition.
https://faseb.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1096/fj.202201564R

First Peoples Child and Family Review – Aboriginal Kinship Carers and Carers of Children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder in Western Australia: Advancing Knowledge from an Indigenous and Disability Lens
Children and youth with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) have limited access to assessment, diagnostic, and treatment resources – a distinct disadvantage in meeting their care needs in Australia.
https://fpcfr.com/index.php/FPCFR/article/view/603

Respiratory Physiology and Neurobiology – Sexual dimorphic vulnerability of respiratory control in a neonatal rodent model of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder
These data suggest that important ventilatory defense responses in females are impaired following developmental EtOH exposure, and this may be associated with increased risk of later death.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1569904823000289

Nature Reviews Disease Primers – Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders
Alcohol readily crosses the placenta and may disrupt fetal development. Harm from prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) is determined by the dose, pattern, timing and duration of exposure, fetal and maternal genetics, maternal nutrition, concurrent substance use, and epigenetic responses.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41572-023-00420-x

Neurodevelopmental Pediatrics – Genetic, Epigenetic, and Environmental Influences on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder: Implications for Diagnosis, Research and Clinical Practice
We provide an overview of FASD and a brief history of the development of diagnostic criteria, review risk and resilience factors that impact the expression of the disorder, discuss genetic and epigenetic factors in FASD, and conclude by relating these findings to the clinical context.
https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-20792-1_28

Neurodevelopmental Pediatrics – Clinical Perspectives on the Diagnostic Assessment of Individuals with FASD
The purpose of this chapter is to provide clinicians with an overview of the diagnostic assessment of individuals with prenatal alcohol exposure.
https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-20792-1_22

Alcohol: Clinical and Experimental Research – Adverse childhood experiences in children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders and their effects on behavior
Children with FASD are at risk for ACEs, and those with higher ACEs had a greater frequency of problem behavior on the ECBI, especially conduct problems.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/acer.15010

Alcohol: Clinical and Experimental Research – An investigation of the utility of the Australian Guide to the diagnosis of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder in young children
These results highlight the complexity of presentation and the extent of impairment in the sample. The use of comorbid diagnoses to substantiate a “severe” designation in specific neurodevelopmental domains raises the question of whether there were false-positive diagnoses.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/acer.15012

Alcohol: Clinical and Experimental Research – Sleep disturbances in Norwegian children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) with and without a diagnosis of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder or epilepsy. Problems with sleep are very common in FASD children and seem independent of FASD subgroup and the presence of epilepsy or a pathological EEG finding, while those with ADHD had more sleep problems. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/acer.15009

Alcohol: Clinical and Experimental Research – Validation of the FASD-Tree as a screening tool for fetal alcohol spectrum disorders. The FASD-Tree is not a biomarker of PAE and does not provide definitive evidence of prenatal alcohol exposure. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/acer.14987

BJR| Open – Spectrum of MRI findings of foetal alcohol syndrome disorders – what we know and what we need to know! The exposure to alcohol in utero has been known to damage the developing foetus. Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) is an umbrella term that highlights a range of adverse effects linked to alcohol exposure in utero. https://www.birpublications.org/doi/abs/10.1259/bjro.20210063

Alcohol: Clinical and Experimental Research – Latent classes of neurodevelopmental profiles and needs in children and adolescents with prenatal alcohol exposure. Four relatively distinct subgroups were present in a large heterogeneous sample of children and adolescents with PAE assessed for FASD in Canada. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/acer.15028

International Journal of High Risk Behaviors and Addiction – Emerging Risk of Ethanol-related Outbreak via Clandestine Alcohol Consumption During Pregnancy: An Alarming Note on Prevention of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders in Iran. Alcohol consumption during pregnancy is an increased risk behavior that raises significant clinical concerns. Ethanol is classified as a hazardous teratogenic substance (1).
https://brieflands.com/articles/ijhrba-131881.html

BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth – A harmonized analysis of five Canadian pregnancy cohort studies: exploring the characteristics and pregnancy outcomes associated with prenatal alcohol exposure
Pooling data across pregnancy cohort studies allowed us to create a large sample of Canadian women and investigate the risk factors for alcohol consumption during pregnancy.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12884-023-05447-2

Current Psychology – Alcohol consumption after pregnancy awareness and the additive effect of pregnancy-related anxiety and child abuse. This study examined whether pregnant women alter their alcohol consumption upon pregnancy awareness and any additive effect of a maternal history of child abuse and pregnancy-related anxiety in predicting antenatal alcohol consumption.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12144-023-04387-6

Experimental Neurology – Alcohol & cannabinoid co-use: Implications for impaired fetal brain development following gestational exposure. In this review paper, we will address what is currently known about combined exposure to these substances, both directly and prenatally, and identify shared prenatal targets from single-exposure paradigms that may highlight susceptible neurobiological mechanisms for future investigation and therapeutic intervention.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S001448862300002X?via%3Dihub&fbclid=IwAR3dqqZ_CxmB1_eCMGyFDa03TYrxStjO78aYcbKPYlT1V_YPKnw7d3xwFlE

20 February 2023

Cells – Choline Supplementation Alters Hippocampal Cytokine Levels in Adolescence and Adulthood in an Animal Model of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders
Alcohol (ethanol) exposure during pregnancy can adversely affect development, with long-lasting consequences that include neuroimmune, cognitive, and behavioral dysfunction.
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4409/12/4/546

The Journal of Physiology – The role of maternal choline, folate and one-carbon metabolism in mediating the impact of prenatal alcohol exposure on placental and fetal development
Prenatal alcohol consumption (PAE) may be associated with a broad spectrum of impacts, ranging from no overt effects, to miscarriage, fetal growth restriction and fetal alcohol spectrum disorder.
https://physoc.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1113/JP283556

Alcohol – Combined exposure to alcohol and cannabis during development: mechanisms and outcomes
The present review focuses on interactions between alcohol and cannabis exposure and the potential consequences of these interactions.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0741832923000150

The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse – Global intellectual ability and adaptive functioning in children with FASD with and without sentinel facial features
The present study founds poorer cognitive outcomes in children who have FASD with sentinel facial features. In children without SFF, stronger executive functioning is also related to significantly stronger reported conceptual, social, and practical adaptive behaviors.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00952990.2022.2164503

Maternal and Child Health Journal – Systematic Review: Polysubstance Prevalence Estimates Reported during Pregnancy, US, 2009–2020
Polysubstance use during pregnancy is common, especially with alcohol, marijuana, and/or tobacco/nicotine.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10995-023-03592-w

Women’s Health – Supporting pregnant and parenting women who use alcohol during pregnancy: A scoping review of trauma-informed approaches
Alcohol is legalized and used for a variety of reasons, including socially or as self-medication for trauma in the absence of accessible and safe supports.
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/17455057221148304

Stroke – Abstract TP215: Prenatal Alcohol Exposure Impairs Long-term Behavioral Recovery Following Ischemic Stroke In Sprague Dawley Rats
The present findings support the hypothesis that PAE modifies long-term cognitive changes after stroke, and further show that different cognitive domains are affected by PAE in males and females.
https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/abs/10.1161/str.54.suppl_1.TP215

Frontiers in Psychology – Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder and Risk-Need-Responsivity Model: A guide for criminal justice and forensic mental health professionals
As the prevalence of FASD becomes better understood and recognized, evidence-based approaches to addressing this specific sub-population are necessary to effect change and reduce recidivism and ongoing involvement in the criminal justice system.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9911866/?report=classic

6 February 2023

The Lancet Public Health – Heavy prenatal alcohol exposure and obstetric and birth outcomes: a Danish nationwide cohort study from 1996 to 2018
Heavy prenatal alcohol exposure is associated with adverse obstetric and birth outcomes and high proportions of maternal low educational level, psychiatric disease, and lifestyle risk behaviours. These findings highlight a need for holistic public health programmes and policy attention on improving pre-conceptional care and antenatal care.
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpub/article/PIIS2468-2667(22)00263-8/fulltext

The Lancet Public Health – Heavy prenatal alcohol exposure and overall morbidities: a Danish nationwide cohort study from 1996 to 2018
Heavy prenatal alcohol exposure is associated with an overall increased risk of child morbidities and previously unrecognised alcohol-related health problems. Prenatal alcohol exposure is a key public health issue with a potential negative impact on child and adolescent health.
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpub/article/PIIS2468-2667(22)00289-4/fulltext

The Lancet Public Health – Effect of alcohol during pregnancy: a public health issue
Alcohol is a known teratogen and associated with a range of adverse outcomes for pregnant women and children exposed in utero. The most prominent of these is known as fetal alcohol spectrum disorder.
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpub/article/PIIS2468-2667(22)00318-8/fulltext

Alcohol Use: Assessment, Withdrawal Management, Treatment and Therapy – Alcohol Use During Pregnancy and Its Impacts on a Child’s Life
This chapter provides further background on FASD and then outlines the diagnostic process and why it is so challenging.
https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-18381-2_12

Women’s Health – Supportive alcohol policy as a key element of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder prevention
In Canada, a Four-Part Model of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) Prevention has been developed that describes a continuum of multi-sectoral efforts, including broad awareness campaigns, safe and respectful conversations around pregnancy and alcohol use, and holistic and wraparound support services for pregnant and postpartum women with alcohol, and other health and social concerns.
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/17455057231151838

Children – Evaluating the Difference in Neuropsychological Profiles of Individuals with FASD Based on the Number of Sentinel Facial Features: A Service Evaluation of the FASD UK National Clinic Database
It might be implied that those with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) with fewer sentinel facial features have a “milder” neuropsychological presentation, or present with fewer impairments than those with more sentinel facial features.
https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/10/2/266

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health – The Changes in the Level of Knowledge about the Effects of Alcohol Use during Pregnancy among Three Last Generations of Women in Poland
Since 1973, when the term Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) was introduced, a major impact has been put on raising awareness about the negative effects of prenatal alcohol exposure.
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/3/2479

Cells – Synaptic Plasticity Abnormalities in Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders
The brain’s ability to strengthen or weaken synaptic connections is often termed synaptic plasticity. It has been shown to function in brain remodeling following different types of brain damage (e.g., drugs of abuse, alcohol use disorders, neurodegenerative diseases, and inflammatory conditions).
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4409/12/3/442

Pediatric Research – Fetal anemia and elevated hepcidin in a mouse model of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder
These data confirm and extend prior observations that PAE disrupts maternal and fetal iron metabolism and impairs the fetus’s ability to regulate iron status.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41390-023-02469-6

Children – Development and Evaluation of a Virtual Model for Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) Assessment and Diagnosis in Children: A Pilot Study
The diagnostic process for fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) involves a multi-disciplinary team and includes neurodevelopmental, physical, and facial assessments and evidence of prenatal alcohol exposure during the index pregnancy.
https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/10/2/196

The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse – Folate administration ameliorates neurobehavioral effects of prenatal ethanol exposure
Folate administration should be considered as a preventive or acute treatment to attenuate the neurobehavioral effects of PEE.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00952990.2022.2159425

Acta Neuropsychiatrica – Associations between community-level patterns of prenatal alcohol and tobacco exposure on brain structure in a non-clinical sample of 6-year-old children: a South African pilot study
The current small study utilized prospective data collection of patterns of prenatal alcohol and tobacco exposure (PAE and PTE) to examine associations with structural brain outcomes in 6-year-olds, and served as a pilot to determine the value of prospective data describing community-level patterns of PAE and PTE in a non-clinical sample of children.
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/acta-neuropsychiatrica/article/abs/associations-between-communitylevel-patterns-of-prenatal-alcohol-and-tobacco-exposure-on-brain-structure-in-a-nonclinical-sample-of-6yearold-children-a-south-african-pilot-study/3FE59538C5798DB8933A8FFD40FEF8B0

Journal of EMDR Practice – The Effects of EMDR Therapy on Pregnant Clients With Substance Use Disorders: A Narrative, Scoping Literature Review
This narrative scoping literature review explores a significant clinical population, pregnant women with co-occurring substance misuse, through the lens of adaptive information processing and the potential for eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy intervention.
https://connect.springerpub.com/content/sgremdr/early/2023/01/25/emdr-2022-0049.abstract

Antioxidants – Impact of Prenatal Alcohol Exposure on the Development and Myocardium of Adult Mice: Morphometric Changes, Transcriptional Modulation of Genes Related to Cardiac Dysfunction, and Antioxidant Cardioprotection
In summary, PAE animals presented morphometric changes, transcription of cardiac dysfunction-related genes, and increased antioxidant protection in the myocardium.
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3921/12/2/256

MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report – Alcohol Use, Screening, and Brief Intervention Among Pregnant Persons — 24 U.S. Jurisdictions, 2017 and 2019
In 2017 and 2019, during their most recent health care visit, 80% of pregnant persons reported being asked about their alcohol use; only 16% of those with past 30-day alcohol consumption were advised by a health care provider to quit or reduce their alcohol use.
https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/72/wr/mm7203a2.htm

January 2023

Nature – Initial study on quantitative electroencephalographic analysis of bioelectrical activity of the brain of children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) without epilepsy
The main objective of this study was to identify characteristic patterns in QEEG among individuals affected with FASD.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-26590-4

BMC Medicine – Chromatin modifier developmental pluripotency associated factor 4 (DPPA4) is a candidate gene for alcohol-induced developmental disorders
Our study shows the effects of early alcohol exposure on human embryonic and extraembryonic cells, introduces candidate genes for alcohol-induced developmental disorders, and reveals potential biomarkers for prenatal alcohol exposure.
https://bmcmedicine.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12916-022-02699-1

The Lancet Public Health – Heavy prenatal alcohol exposure and overall morbidities: a Danish nationwide cohort study from 1996 to 2018
Heavy prenatal alcohol exposure is associated with an overall increased risk of child morbidities and previously unrecognised alcohol-related health problems. Prenatal alcohol exposure is a key public health issue with a potential negative impact on child and adolescent health. This study urges for renewed efforts and substantiates the profound degree to which pre-conceptional care is mandatory.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2468266722002894

Logopedia Silesiana – Performance of a picture description by ten-year-olds with fetal alcohol syndrome
The subject of this paper is describing of a picture by ten-year-olds with fetal alcohol syndrome and their peers from a control group.
https://journals.us.edu.pl/index.php/LOGOPEDIASILESIANA/article/view/13642

ResearchGate – Leveraging Community-University Partnerships to Develop a Strength-Based and Individualized Approach to Humanizing Housing Service Delivery for Individuals with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD)
This field report summarizes and advances key learnings for leveraging community–university partnerships addressing housing service gaps for high-risk, marginalized populations with complex needs.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/366562823_Leveraging_Community-University_Partnerships_to_Develop_a_Strength-Based_and_Individualized_Approach_to_Humanizing_Housing_Service_Delivery_for_Individuals_with_Fetal_Alcohol_Spectrum_Disorder_FASD

African Journal of Primary Health Care & Family Medicine – Alcohol ban during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown: Lessons for preventing foetal alcohol spectrum disorder in South Africa
During the two national lockdowns implemented in South Africa to curb the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages were prohibited.
https://phcfm.org/index.php/phcfm/article/view/3686

Nordic Studies on Alcohol and Drugs – Adverse childhood experiences and neurodevelopmental disorders among youth with and without prenatal substance exposure: A longitudinal matched register-based cohort study
A strong association between ACEs and neurodevelopmental disorders was found. Brain research is needed to examine whether ACEs worsen neurodevelopmental outcomes caused by PSE.
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/14550725221110190

Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research – Comparison of three systems for the diagnosis of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders in a community sample
These results indicate a lack of consistency in these approaches to diagnosis. Discrepancies result from differences in specifying the criteria used to define the diagnosis, including growth, physical features, neurobehavior and alcohol-use thresholds.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/acer.14999

Journal of Affective Disorders – Prenatal alcohol exposure enhanced alcohol preference and susceptibility to PTSD in a sex-dependent manner through the synaptic HCN1 channel
Overall, these results suggest that PAE enhances alcohol preference and susceptibility to PTSD through synaptic HCN1 channels in the PFC. In addition, ZD7288 may be a promising candidate for preventing alcohol-associated PTSD-like syndrome, particularly in males.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S016503272201429X

Plos one – Spatial distribution and determinants of alcohol consumption among pregnant women in Ethiopia: Spatial and multilevel analysis
Alcohol consumption during pregnancy in Ethiopia was high. The spatial distribution of alcohol consumption was significantly varied across the country.
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0279405

International Journal of Molecular Sciences – Molecular Markers in Maternal Blood Exosomes Allow Early Detection of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders
Prenatal alcohol exposure can cause developmental abnormalities (fetal alcohol spectrum disorders; FASD), including small eyes, face and brain, and neurobehavioral deficits.
https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/24/1/135

Developmental Neuroscience – Auditory Outcomes in Adolescents with Prenatal Alcohol Exposure
Investigate three aspects of auditory function (auditory acuity, cochlear dysfunction, and auditory processing) in adolescents with fetal alcohol exposure without phenotypic changes.
https://europepmc.org/article/med/36580902

November 2022