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Sunday, January 6, 2013

FASD News - 1/2013


NEWS and ARTICLES
Sky News (South Africa) - South Africa: Women Drinking To Harm Babies
Mothers in one of South Africa's poorest areas are drinking heavily to deliberately damage their unborn babies - just so they can claim disability benefit.
Globe and Mail - Unplanned parenthood: how drinking while pregnant changes lives forever
Crystal Piquette is 31 and ripped, her biceps and flat tummy a testament to the rigours of her factory job. Her life seems ordinary – she has a boyfriend and five cats, does handicrafts and dreams of buying a home – but it’s a quantum leap for someone who ran away from home at 17 to live on the street.
Globe and Mail (Canada) - Educating Austin: supporting kids with fetal alcohol syndrome
School can be a problem for children like Austin Layte. He was in Grade 3 last year, but spent most of May and June, not in class but in the principal’s office – visits that mystified a boy who always seem to have a storm brewing inside.
Scientific American - How Much Alcohol Is Safe for Expectant Mothers?
On the night of my 32nd birthday, my husband and I enjoyed a delicious dinner while on vacation in Orvieto, Italy. To complement my pasta, I enjoyed a single glass of red wine, my first since learning I was pregnant four months earlier. Even now my indulgence inspires periodic pangs of guilt: Did I stunt my son’s potential by sipping that Sangiovese?
Wadena Pioneer Journal (USA) - Public Health Matters: January is National Birth Defects Prevention Month
Wadena County Public Health wants to let you know that January is National Birth Defects Prevention Month. Together, with the National Birth Defects Prevention Network (NBDPN), we work to make information available on how to prevent birth defects and also give support to families who are dealing with a child born with a birth defect.
Glasgow Evening Times (Wales) - 88% of pregnant women who tried to quit smoking started again within 4 weeks
Figures show the message is still not getting through to women about the dangers of prenatal smoking. A total of 1270 women were referred to NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde's Smokefree Pregnancy Service from From April 1 to September 30 this year.
U.S. News & World Report (USA) - Thousands of U.S. Babies Born With Cleft Lip, Palate Each Year
It's not clear exactly what causes oral clefts, according to the March of Dimes. Some factors that have been associated with an increased risk for cleft lip and palate include changes in some genes, a deficiency of folic acid before pregnancy, taking certain medications while pregnant, drinking alcohol during pregnancy and having certain infections during pregnancy.
The Delta Discovery - The Difference Between FAS and FAE
Originally, FAS was an acronym for Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and FAE for Fetal Alcohol Effect. In the early years of research on the effects of alcohol on the developing fetus, the terms FAS and FAE were used to distinguish between a syndrome that could be detected by observation and less noticeable effects from the alcohol upon the developing nervous system.
USA TODAY - Parents plead for easier route to help mentally ill kids
Starting at age 7, Teddy Shuman would transform at a moment's notice from a sweet-natured boy who struggled with developmental disabilities to a child driven by uncontrollable rages.
Health-e (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.
The Observer - Drinking While Pregnant: Her Baby, Your Problem?
It’s your first day as a waiter or waitress. You walk up to one of your customers, a woman with an oddly familiar glow to her skin. She looks up, smiling, and orders a glass of pinot noir. Seems normal, right? Until you look down and notice something odd: the woman is pregnant. What do you do?
Pix11 (USA) - Outrage as hospitals test pregnant moms for drugs near low-income neighborhoods
Expecting moms in New York are being drug tested in hospitals near low income neighborhoods. But pregnancy advocates are calling the practice racist and discriminatory.

UPCOMING
FASD Throughout the Lifespan: from prevention to lifelong support
The FASD Association of Newfoundland & Labrador is inviting you to the FACE Research Roundtable and our conference FASD Throughout the Lifespan.
FASD Learning series 2012-2013
Sessions are available via live webcast.
College of New Caledonia - FASD Advanced Diploma Online / FASD Online Courses
This post-diploma program is designed for professionals who are working with individuals or families affected by FASD. Classes are provided in a supportive, fully online environment. Join our team of nationally recognized experts in this field and gain university credits that can be used toward social, justice, education and health professions.
MOFAS - Video Project Night for Young Adults Affected by an FASD
We invite young adults affected by an FASD to join us in creating short videos that feature you, talking about your experiences. You can talk about what services have been beneficial for you, what is most frustrating or what would have been more helpful in making you feel supported and successful. The videos will be short, easy and fun to make.

MATERIALS
Community Living - Supporting Success for Adults with FASD
CLBC’s new Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) Resource Supporting Success for Adults with FASD is designed to be used by CLBC staff, service providers, community members, family members and others who work with adults with FASD.

RESEARCH
Annals of Neurology - Prenatal Alcohol Exposure Affects Vasculature Development in the Neonatal Brain
In mice, prenatal alcohol exposure induced a reduction of cortical vascular density, loss of the radial orientation of microvessels, and altered expression of VEGF receptors. Time-lapse experiments performed on brain slices revealed that ethanol inhibited glutamate-induced calcium mobilization in endothelial cells, affected plasticity, and promoted death of microvessels.
Alcoholism - Investigating the Influence of Prenatal Androgen Exposure and Sibling Effects on Alcohol Use and Alcohol Use Disorder in Females from Opposite-Sex Twin Pairs
There are robust sex differences for alcohol phenotypes, with men reporting more drinking and alcohol use disorder (AUD) symptoms than women. However, the sources of these effects are not completely understood. Sex hormones, a substantial biological sex difference, exert neurobehavioral influences and are candidates for influencing sex differences in alcohol phenotypes. This study investigated the effects of prenatal androgens based on the hypothesis of prenatal hormone transfer, which posits that hormones from one twin influence the development of a cotwin.

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