FASD News - 28/2021

Hawaii Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders FASD Action Group - New Legislation Will Help Children and Adults Living with FASD, the Nation’s Most Common and Preventable Developmental Disability
The U.S. Senate and House have introduced matching bills to authorize comprehensive Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) support services, public health prevention, and research programs across agencies within the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services, Education, and Justice.
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DTNext (India) - An expert take on low birth weight babies
Low birth weight and premature births are the leading cause of mortality among newborns in India. But thanks to ongoing projects the incidence of low birth weight has reduced drastically in the last one decade.
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Synapse - Cheryl Dedman
Cheryl Dedman knows more about brain injury than most, having experienced it both personally, and as the adoptive parent of a teenager diagnosed with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD).
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Nudge Education (UK) - Brain; not blame. Understanding the neurology of Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD)
An interest in FASD means more than a passing interest in neurology.  I never had myself down as an amateur neurologist, being an English-and-History type, but here I am anyway, doubly invested as a teacher and a parent of a child with FASD.
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VIDEOS and MATERIALS
Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet - FASD among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
This short video highlights key information and recommendations in responding to Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
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Proof Alliance - Let's Talk About The FASD Respect Act
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Dewan Raja - Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
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Proof Alliance - Proof Alliance Fact Check: Paternal Alcohol Use
New research claims paternal alcohol use may cause an increased risk of birth defects. Proof Alliance Special Projects Manager (and self-described research nerd) Sarah Brown reviews the facts and breaks it down so you can share the PROOF with confidence.
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Spotlight on FASD - Podcast Season 3, Episode 8 - Education: A Life Worth Living
This week we talk to Nudge Education about their brand new FASD specific education intervention. Diego and Brian tell us about Nudge’s mission to make sure no child is left behind when it comes to being able to engage in gaining an education.
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AdoptionUK - FASD Month
Our theme this year has been ‘FASD Think Differently’ and if you have been following our social media you will have noticed our #FASDthinkDifferently hashtag.
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FASD Success - #071 Miranda Eodanable: Educational Psychologist
My good friend Aliy Brown from FASD Hub Scotland reached out to let me know about some interesting research going on right now in Scotland with young people with FASD.
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Russell Family Fetal Alcohol Disorders Association - Medical professionals diagnosing FASD
My retirement speech concerning GPs diagnosing FASD why they’re not and why they should.
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Me & My FASD - The Misunderstoods: Living FASD
One of our advisors with FASD suggested we create a brand new board game about living with FASD. Such a great idea! Thanks Andy!
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Empowering Homeschool Conversations - Homeschooling a Child with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder
Our special guest on this pre-recorded broadcast of Empowering Homeschool Conversations was Natalie Vecchione, adoptive homeschool mom, FASD parent, and owner of FASD Hope. Natalie shared with us about "Homeschooling a Child with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder".
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Orphans No More - Episode 280 - Becoming FASD Informed with Sandra Flach
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) affects 75% of the children in the child welfare system. For this reason, it is imperative for adoptive and foster parents to be FASD informed.
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RESEARCH
Neurotoxicology and Teratology - Ethanol modulation of hippocampal neuroinflammation, myelination, and neurodevelopment in a postnatal mouse model of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders
Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) are alarmingly common and result in significant personal and societal loss. Neuropathology of the hippocampus is common in FASD leading to aberrant cognitive function.
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Academia - Difficulties in Diagnosing Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder in the Judicial System
As a relatively new concept to the justice system, specifically for legal professionals, there are a number of unanswered questions in regard to the prevalence, diagnosis and long-term effects of FASD.
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Developmental Neurobiology - Dynamics of microglia and dendritic spines in early adolescent cortex after developmental alcohol exposure
Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) patients suffer from many cognitive disabilities. These include impaired auditory, visual, and tactile sensory information processing, making it more difficult for these patients to learn to navigate social scenarios.
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BMC biology - Exposure to ethanol leads to midfacial hypoplasia in a zebrafish model of FASD via indirect interactions with the Shh pathway
Our results show that the midfacial defects in ethanol-exposed vangl2 mutants are likely due to an indirect interaction between ethanol and the Shh pathway. Vangl2 functions as part of a signaling pathway that regulates coordinated cell movements during midfacial development.
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International Journal of Obesity - The effect of heavy prenatal alcohol exposure on adolescent body mass index and waist-to-height ratio at 12–13 years
Heavy PAE had a sex-specific effect on measures of adiposity in early adolescence, with girls more likely to have increased BMI and overweight/obesity status.
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JMIR Formative Research - Executive Function After Prenatal Alcohol Exposure in Children in a South African Population: Cross-sectional Study
We expected that alcohol exposure would have a measurable impact on executive function development. The lack of differences highlights the prevalence of developmental delays in low–socioeconomic status communities in South Africa and suggests that children are exposed to various threats to cognitive development.
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University of Glasgow - Patterns and prevalence of alcohol consumption in pregnancy using infant biomarkers
This study indicates that routine use of meconium biomarkers for detection of alcohol consumption in pregnancy is not currently justified. Similarly, retrospective testing of stored dried blood spot samples taken on day five of life cannot be recommended as a measure of assessing PAE.
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Behavior Genetics - Developmental Cascades from Polygenic and Prenatal Substance Use to Adolescent Substance Use: Leveraging Severity and Directionality of Externalizing and Internalizing Problems to Understand Pubertal and Harsh Discipline-Related Risk
The current study leveraged the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) cohort (n = 4504 White boys, n = 4287 White girls assessed from the prenatal period through 18.5 years of age) to test a developmental cascade from genetic and prenatal substance use through pubertal timing and parenting to the severity of (regardless of type) and directionality (i.e., differentiation) of externalizing and internalizing problems to adolescent substance use.
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Journal of the Royal Statistical Society - Propensity score analysis for a semi-continuous exposure variable: a study of gestational alcohol exposure and childhood cognition
Propensity score methodology has become increasingly popular in recent years as a tool for estimating causal effects in observational studies.
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Early Human Development - Maternal verbal scaffolding: association with higher language skills for 20-month-old children with prenatal polysubstance exposure
Maternal scaffolding during play was associated with language development in children with and without prenatal polysubstance exposure.
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Toxicology - Prenatal ethanol exposure increases maternal bile acids through placental transport pathway
Our study provides a novel perspective in terms of placenta, explaining the increased maternal blood bile acids under the toxicity of PEE.
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Journal of Public Affairs - Alcohol consumption and use of contraceptives: Evidence from 2018 Nigerian Demographic and Health Survey in Nigeria
Per capita alcohol consumption in Nigeria is high when compared with other countries in Africa. Alcohol induces social behaviors which include home violence, sexual harassment, unwanted pregnancy, and infidelity among couples.
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National Institute for Health Research - Brief alcohol intervention to reduce risky drinking in pregnancy: a pilot randomised controlled trial.
In the 2005 Infant Feeding Survey, 8% of mothers said they drank alcohol when pregnant at levels that can affect fetal development. These effects have considerable impact on children’s health and on service use.
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IN OTHER LANGUAGES
Termedia (Poland) - RPO: Polskie państwo jest bezradne wobec problemu FASD
Rozproszone działania interwencyjne, profilaktyczne i edukacyjne nie dają efektu zachowania pełnej abstynencji przez ciężarne.
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El Diario (Bolivia) - CONSECUENCIAS DEL CONSUMO DE DROGAS Y OTRAS SUSTANCIAS DURANTE EL EMBARAZO
La frecuencia de la drogadicción en la población general ha aumentado considerablemente en los últimos 20 a 25 años, existen mujeres embarazadas que consumen drogas, alcohol, algunas de manera casual o por recreación, pero en muchas se presenta la adicción.
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HELDA (Finland) - Raskaudenaikaisen alkoholialtistuksen vaikutus vastasyntyneen sisäposken epiteelisolujen epigenomiin
Ympäristön tiedetään vaikuttavan sikiönkehitykseen ja yksilön myöhempään terveyteen. Aiempien tutkimusten mukaan raskauden alku on erityisen herkkä ympäristön vaikutuksille. Sikiönkehityksen alkuun ajoittuu epigeneettinen uudelleenohjelmoituminen, jolloin solut jakautuvat vilkkaasti ja kullekin solutyypille ominaiset geenien toimintaan vaikuttavat epigeneettiset profiilit muodostuvat.
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