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Sunday, August 19, 2012

FASD News - 33/2012


NEWS AND ARTICLES
Daily Mail (UK) - Pregnancy test dispenser installed inside BAR in effort to stop women drinking while expecting
The owner of a bar decided to install a pregnancy test dispenser inside of the women's restroom in an effort to prevent fetal alcohol syndrome.
Sun News Network - Fetal alcohol syndrome can have no outward signs: Study
Fetal alcohol syndrome can be hard to diagnose because not all babies develop the distinct facial features normally associated with the disease, a new study has found.
News-Medical.net - Prenatal alcohol exposure effects last well into childhood
Women who heavily expose their unborn child to alcohol risk restricting their child's growth until the age of 9 years, researchers say.
CBS News (USA) - 1 in 13 pregnant women drink alcohol, CDC says
Drinking alcohol during pregnancy is the leading preventable cause of birth defects and developmental disabilities in children, says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Daily Commercial News (Canada) - Governments of Canada and Yukon Invest in Affordable Housing in Whitehorse
The Governments of Canada and Yukon, along with community partners, gathered today to announce funding for Options for Independence, for a new building providing 14 new housing units for clients living with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) in Whitehorse.
DigitalJournal.com (South Africa) - Sanford Research President Advances International Research on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD)
Data from a recent trip to South Africa for Sanford Health’s Gene Hoyme, MD, will be used to develop criteria for more accurate recognition of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) in infancy and early childhood. Early recognition of this continuum of disorders is critical as it provides children with access to intervention services sooner and improves their health outcomes.
Medical News Today - Mothers Who Smoke While Pregnant Increase Their Baby's Risk Of Asthma
New research has discovered that mothers who smoke during pregnancy may cause wheeze and asthma in their children when they reach preschool, even among kids whose moms did not smoke until late pregnancy or after birth.
Voxy (New Zealand) - Prison more likely for those prenatally exposed to alcohol
The Health Select Committee should take seriously Children's Commissioner Dr Russell Wills concerns about the increase of children with Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders(FADS), says Kim Workman, Director of Rethinking Crime and Punishment. FASD is an umbrella term describing the range of effects that can occur in an individual prenatally exposed to alcohol.
AllAfrica.com (South Africa) - South Africa: Headway in the Fight Against FAS
A far-flung Northern Cape town has been making world headlines over the last few years. Unfortunately for the wrong reasons - a 2002-study revealed that more than one in 10 (12.2%) children in the De Aar community had foetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), giving the town the highest reported rate in the world.
Cambridge News - Toolkit tackles birth defects in developing world
A pioneering resource to help tackle birth defects, particularly in low and middle income countries (LMICs) has been made available free and online to health and policy professionals and patient groups worldwide.
Thats Life (Australia) - I paid the ultimate price for my binge drinking
Looking at my daughter Krystal, you would never know she was different to other girls her age. But the truth is, her life is plagued with health problems. Learning difficulties, vision and hearing impairments...
ABANow (USA) - Urges Training to Recognize FASD in Juvenile Justice System
RESOLVED, That the American Bar Association urges attorneys and judges, state, local, and specialty bar associations, and law school clinical programs to help identify and respond effectively to Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) in children and adults, through training to enhance awareness of FASD and its impact on individuals in the child welfare, juvenile justice, and adult criminal justice systems and the value of collaboration with medical, mental health, and disability experts.
Risk Sense - Why We Need to Ban the Word “Safe” from Reports of Risk Research: The Example of Alcohol Use in Pregnancy
Yesterday, BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology electronically published in “Early View” 5 articles from a Danish research group, all of which use longitudinal data from 2003-2008 to consider the relationship (or lack thereof) between maternal alcohol consumption during pregnancy and various outcomes (executive function, intelligence, attention) in these mothers’ children at 5 years of age.
National Times (Australia) - Everyone gets a say in the alcohol debate - except the foetus
In the debate over serving alcohol to pregnant women - following an incident in which a waitress refused to serve a pregnant woman alcohol in California - doctors, legal experts, women’s rights activists and hospitality workers have all weighed in. Sadly the foetus doesn’t get a say.
Science Nordic (Norway) - For Norwegian drug addicts, pregnancy might lead to incarceration
A unique law gives social workers in Norway the right to lock up pregnant drug addicts to protect the health of unborn children. A new study looks at how the pregnant users react to being incarcerated.

COMING UP
Second European Conference on FASD
Due to the summer vacation period, Early Bird registration has been extended to August 20. Make sure your registration and payment are received by this date to qualify for the reduced fee!
FASDlive 2012 Conference: Expanding our Vision
The FASD Support Network of Saskatchewan, Saskatchewan Ministry of Health, Saskatchewan Prevention Institute, and Canada Northwest FASD Partnership are pleased to invite you to our conference FASDlive 2012: Expanding our Vision.
Vorankündigung der 14. FASD Fachtagung 2012
Jedes Jahr werden in Deutschland immer noch 4000 bis 10 000 Menschen mit fetalen Alkoholspektrumsstörungen (FASD) geboren. Die vermeidbare Ursache für diese geistigen und körperlichen Fehlentwicklungen ist Akloholkonsum während der Schwangerschaft. Im Verlauf dieser Fachtagung werden wir Rückschau halten auf 40 Jahre Forschung und Prävention und auf die neuesten Entwicklungen in Forschung und Therapie …

RESEARCH
Alcohol and Alcoholism - Advanced Gestational Age Increases Serum Carbohydrate-Deficient Transferrin Levels in Abstinent Pregnant Women
Carbohydrate-deficient transferrin (%CDT) is a well-established and highly specific biomarker for sustained heavy consumption of alcohol. However, in pregnant women, the specificity of this biomarker might be affected by advanced gestational age, even after accounting for increased transferrin concentrations in pregnancy.
Behavioural Brain Research - Prenatal ethanol exposure impairs passive avoidance acquisition and enhances unconditioned freezing in rat offspring
To clarify in detail the impaired behavior related to fear and anxiety seen in rat offspring prenatally exposed to ethanol, their behaviors were observed using an elevated T-maze (ETM) test, which allows assessment of passive avoidance acquisition and one-way escape separately, and an elevated open platform (EOP) test for the assessment of unconditioned freezing against innate fear.
Alcoholism - Children with Heavy Prenatal Alcohol Exposure Experience Reduced Control of Isotonic Force
Heavy prenatal alcohol exposure can result in diverse and extensive damage to the central nervous system, including the cerebellum, basal ganglia, and cerebral cortex. Given that these brain regions are involved in the generation and maintenance of motor force, we predicted that prenatal alcohol exposure would adversely affect this parameter of motor control.
Alcoholism - A Prospective Cohort Study of the Prevalence of Growth, Facial, and Central Nervous System Abnormalities in Children with Heavy Prenatal Alcohol Exposure
Most children who are exposed to large quantities of alcohol in utero do not develop fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). Population-based prospective data on the risk of developing components of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD), however, are limited.
Alcoholism - Prenatal Alcohol Exposure, Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, and Sluggish Cognitive Tempo
Alcohol-exposed children exhibited elevated SCT scores. Elevations were related to increased parent ratings of internalizing and externalizing behaviors and attention. These findings are observed in alcohol-exposed children regardless of ADHD symptoms and specific SCT items proved useful in distinguishing exposed children, suggesting clinical utility for this measure in further defining the neurobehavioral profile related to prenatal alcohol exposure.

IN OTHER LANGUAGES
Helsingborgs Dagblad (Sweden) - Skapa kunskapscentrum
Glöm inte bort grupper när neuropsykiatrin ska förbättras. Krav från Katarina Wittgard och Annelie Björkhagen Turesson.

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