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Sunday, February 8, 2015

FASD News - 5/2015

NEWS and ARTICLES
Ktoo (USA) - Effort to warn women about alcohol during pregnancy
A media campaign is set to launch in March that’s aimed at reducing the number of children born with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders in Alaska.
Juneau Empire - Finding the good with FASD
It’s important to find the good, explained Mary Katasse, a mother of three children with FASD. She finds the good in even undesirable behavior because she said her children yearn to do good and will strive to do more good.
NOFAS (USA) - CDC Publishes FAS Data and FASD Estimate
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in the latest edition of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), describes findings from a new report, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Among Children Aged 7-9 Years – Arizona, Colorado, and New York, 2010, on the prevalence of fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) at three sites within the CDC-funded Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Surveillance Network II.
The Joint - ADHD, or FASD?
A report released in November 2013 found that 11% of children in the US aged 4 to 17 had been diagnosed with ADHD, and that number is quickly rising. Some people believe ADHD is the product of genetics, a poor environment, or simply doctors racking up diagnoses in order to profit from what are simply “problem children,” not taught proper discipline by their parents.
Ob.Gyn. News - Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder
Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders are a vibrant area of development and research. Awareness about this preventable group of conditions appears to be growing.

RESOURCES AND VIDEOS
UC San Diego POLICY DESIGN AND EVALUATION LAB - Computer Games to Improve Behavioral Regulation in FASD-affected Children
The research team has developed a treatment for children with FASD-related adaptive functioning impairments that was demonstrated in a pilot study in the United States to be effective for children with FASD in the age range of 5 - 10 years.
NEW PSA DEVELOPED IN EFFORT TO EXPAND FASD PREVENTION STATEWIDE
The Trust presentation to the Senate Finance Committee today included the premiere of a new PSA developed to educate, engage and enlist legislators regarding the need for increased statewide attention to the challenges posed by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) in Alaska, from a social level to an economic one.
Your Alberta - Practical strategies and support for families affected by FASD
Mary Berube (MSW, RSW) provides practical suggestions about what parents can do to strengthen their relationships with their children affected by FASD to give the children the best start in life.

UPCOMING
13th Annual Harm Reduction Conference
The Alberta Harm Reduction Conference has been in existence since 2000. Initially it was an annual event, and is now held biannually. We have been privileged to have speakers and attendees from across Canada and the US. The conference is a joint effort by Alberta’s needle exchange/Harm Reduction programs, including Safeworks (Calgary), Central Alberta AIDS Network (Red Deer), HIV North (Grande Prairie/Fort MacMurray), HIV West Yellowhead (Jasper), HIV Community Link (Calgary/Medicine Hat), the Lethbridge HIV Connection and Streetworks (Edmonton).

RESEARCH
CDC - Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Among Children Aged 7–9 Years — Arizona, Colorado, and New York, 2010
Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) is a serious birth defect and developmental disorder caused by in utero exposure to alcohol (1). Assessment of the public health burden of FAS through surveillance has proven difficult; there is wide variation in reported prevalence depending on the study population and surveillance method.
Pediatrics - Misdiagnosis and Missed Diagnoses in Foster and Adopted Children With Prenatal Alcohol Exposure
The purpose of this article is to assess the rate of misdiagnosis and missed diagnoses of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) among a population of foster and adopted youth referred to a children’s mental health center.
Frontiers - Experimental models of early exposure to alcohol: a way to unravel the neurobiology of mental retardation
Excessive alcohol drinking represents a major social and public health problem for several countries. Alcohol abuse during pregnancy leads to a complex syndrome referred to as fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD), chiefly characterized by mental retardation.
Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research - Effects of prenatal alcohol and cigarette exposure on offspring substance use in multiplex, alcohol-dependent families
Women with a family history of SUD are at increased risk for substance use during pregnancy. Both familial loading for alcohol dependence and prenatal exposure to alcohol or cigarettes are important risk factors in the development of offspring substance use.
Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research - Moderate-level prenatal alcohol exposure induces sex differences in dopamine D1 receptor binding in adult rhesus monkey
These results suggest that prenatal alcohol exposure results in long-term increases in prefrontal dopamine D1R binding in males. This may help explain gender differences in the prevalence of neurodevelopmental disorders consequent to prenatal alcohol exposure.
Alcohol - Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and behavioral dysfunction following early binge-like prenatal alcohol exposure in mice
The range of defects that fall within fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) includes persistent behavioral problems, with anxiety and depression being two of the more commonly reported issues.
Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research - Prenatal ethanol exposure impairs executive function in mice into adulthood
Previously, data from clinical studies have suggested that executive control deficits may underlie cognitive, as well as social, problems seen in adolescents with documented PAE. These data demonstrate that even more moderate alcohol exposure during development can lead to impaired cognitive functioning well into adulthood.
Neuropsychology - Visual-spatial abilities relate to mathematics achievement in children with heavy prenatal alcohol exposure
The current study examined the relationship between mathematics and attention, working memory, and visual memory in children with heavy prenatal alcohol exposure and controls.
Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research - beta-Endorphin neuronal transplantation into the hypothalamus alters anxiety-like behaviors in prenatal alcohol-exposed rats and alcohol-non-preferring and alcohol-preferring rats
Alcohol exposure has adverse effects on stress physiology and behavioral reactivity. This is suggested to be due, in part, to the effect of alcohol on β-endorphin (β-EP)-producing neurons in the hypothalamus. In response to stress, β-EP normally provides negative feedback to the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis and interacts with other neurotransmitter systems in the amygdala to regulate behavior.
Behavioural Brain Research - An fMRI study of behavioral response inhibition in adolescents with and without histories of heavy prenatal alcohol exposure
Heavy prenatal alcohol exposure results in a range of deficits, including both volumetric and functional changes in brain regions involved in response inhibition such as the prefrontal cortex and striatum.

IN OTHER LANGUAGES
Italiasalute.it (Italy) - Feto esposto all'alcol rischia disturbi del comportamento
In presenza di disturbi comportamentali nei bambini, i medici dovrebbero considerare la possibilità di un disturbo non diagnosticato dello spettro fetale alcolico (Fasd).
Ärzte Zeitung (Germany) - Schwangere besser aufklären
Das Ausmaß schwerer Schädigungen von Kindern durch Alkoholkonsum während der Schwangerschaft wird offenbar drastisch unterschätzt. Die Politik soll helfen, besser aufzuklären - und Betroffene vor Stigmatisierung zu schützen, fordern Experten.

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