Home

_{^{ONE DRINK OF ALCOHOL, ONE NIGHT ----- THE REST OF YOUR BABY's LIFE}}

_{^{WHEN YOU'RE PREGNENT ------ YOUR BABY DRINKS WHAT YOU DRINK}}

_{^{Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD)}}

FASD is an umbrella term describing the range of effects that can occur in an individual whose mother drank alcohol during pregnancy. These effects may include physical, mental, behavioral, and/or learning disabilities with possible lifelong implications. FASD is not a diagnostic term used by clinicians. It refers to conditions such as: Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), partial FAS (pFAS), Fetal alcohol effects (FAE), alcohol-related neurodevelopmental disorder(ARND), and alcohol-related birth defects (ARBD).

_{^{FASD is estimated to affect about 1 per 1,00 live births, or about 40,000 babies per year. It is a major public health issue around the globe and yet goes unnoticed. FAS is the most recognized condition, affecting as many as 12,000 infants in the United States each year. Characterized by a distinctive facial appearance, growth deficiency, and neurological damage. FASD is a lifelong disabilty and does not go away. Prenatal exposure to alcohol is the only 100% known preventable cause of intellectual disability. The center of Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 0.2 to 1.5 of 1,000 live births in this country are born with FAS, making it more prevalent than down syndrome, cerebral palsy, or spina bifida. At least three times this number are adversely affected by prenatal alcohol exposure, although they lack the facial characteristics to receive a FAS diagnosis.}}

Recent News:

_{^{Specific Genetic Cause Of Fetal Alcohol-related Developmental Disorders Found}}

ScienceDaily (June 19, 2009) — Alcohol consumption by pregnant women hinders brain development in their children by interfering with the genetic processes that control thyroid hormone levels in the fetal brain, a new animal study found.

Results will be presented Wednesday at The Endocrine Society's 91st Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C.

Fetal alcohol exposure—even from moderate drinking during pregnancy—can cause neurodevelopmental disorders, such as emotional behavioral disorders and deficits in learning, memory and speech. There is currently no treatment for these problems, said the author who will present the study results, Laura Sittig, a student at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

Past animal research shows that some of these lasting cognitive impairments occur because alcohol consumption during pregnancy decreases the level of maternal thyroid hormones and, therefore, fetal thyroid hormones.

"Specific concentrations of thyroid hormones must be available in the fetal brain to support normal neurological development," Sittig said.

One of the enzymes that control thyroid hormone levels in the fetal brain is the iodothyronine deiodinase type III, or Dio3, she explained.

Sittig and her colleagues hypothesized that alcohol exposure in the womb leads to cognitive impairments by inducing epigenetic alterations—changes to DNA that do not alter the actual DNA sequence—of developmental genes like Dio3 in the fetal brain. To investigate this hypothesis, they used rats to model moderate alcohol consumption during pregnancy.

The study, which was funded by the National Institutes of Health, demonstrated that fetal alcohol exposure disrupts the epigenetic "imprinting" of Dio3. In this process, Dio3 normally originates from the father's gene, while the maternal gene is silenced by epigenetic control. But alcohol exposure changes the paternal-maternal dosage of Dio3, which increases the amount of the enzyme present in specific brain regions of the fetus, the authors found.

This increase, in turn, reduces the availability of vital thyroid hormones in the parts of the brain that control learning, memory and emotional behaviors.

"In light of our current finding, we can begin testing specific dietary supplements that could reverse the epigenetic alterations that disrupt the regulation of Dio3," Sittig said. "When given to the mother or newborn, this might correct the imprinting deficits induced by alcohol."

"This is a promising avenue to improve the prognosis of alcohol-related neurodevelopmental disorders, for which we currently have no intervention strategy," she said.

The study was conducted in the laboratory of Eva Redei, PhD, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, who was the lead faculty member for the work.

Adapted from materials provided by The Endocrine Society, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Please note that this autopsy picture of the brain on the right side is an example of an extreme case of FAS who did not survive.


FASD Resource Center:
_{The goal of the center is to improve the well being of individuals and caregivers of FASD in the State of Illinois. By providing education, information, support, and encouragement, the individuals with FASD can live full and abundent lives.}
_{HOW CAN YOU HELP}
Every little help makes a difference
Spread awareness about the risk of drinking during pregnancy
Vounteer to help with our Awareness and Prevention Campaigns
Help Organize Fund Rraising
Refer families of individuals with FASD to visit this site.
Utilize resources and Trainings offered at the center
ADVOCACY, PREVENTION AND AWARENESS EFFORTS

_{Please join our efforts:}

_{FASD is 100% Preventable.}

_{The only known cause of FASD is prenatal exposure to alcohol.}

_{When A Woman Is Pregnant....}_{It Does Not Matter What Form The Alcohol Comes In...}

_{I drink of Alcohol =}

_{Service 1 Service
2
5 oz of wine 1.5 oz of
Spirits 12 oz of beer}