FASD News - 17/2023

Family Law Week (UK) - FASD: The neurodevelopmental disorder frequently overlooked within Family Law
Dr Cassie Jackson is Chartered Clinical Psychologist based in Norwich at the Psychology Clinic of East Anglia (PCEA) and is due to begin a part-time role working with the Surrey FASD clinic alongside Dr Raja Mukherjee and colleagues.
Read more

CCX Media (USA) - NEWSMAKERS: PROOF ALLIANCE WORKS TO PREVENT FETAL ALCOHOL SPECTRUM DISORDER
Mollie O’Brien, executive director of Proof Alliance Minnesota, says prenatal alcohol exposure impacts one in 20 babies in the U.S. and can result in Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD).
Read more

Nextgov - Dad's Drinking Tied to Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Defects
New research challenges existing dogma that links fetal alcohol syndrome only to the mother’s drinking.
Read more

The Conversation - Planning for a baby? Why both men and women should consider quitting alcohol before and during pregnancy
When a couple is planning on having a baby, it’s often the woman who is seen as responsible for the health of the unborn child.
Read more

MJA Insight (Australia) - Complex neurodevelopmental disorders: MBS changes
Changes to the Medicare Benefits Schedule will benefit children and young people with complex neurodevelopmental disorders, write Elizabeth Elliott, Marcel Zimmet and Julie Flanagan.
Read more

Times News Group (Australia) - Pittman talks up the benefits of alcohol-free pregnancies
Olympian turned women’s health doctor Dr Jana Pittman wants to get Australians talking about alcohol-free pregnancies, and safe breastfeeding practices.
Read more

Neuroscience News - Exposure to Alcohol Through Breastmilk Affects Brain and Behavioral Development
Exposure to alcohol through a mother’s breastmilk can have serious and lasting implications for brain and behavioral development in children. Researchers found alcohol exposure via breastmilk resulted in smaller body and brain growth and decreased cortical length in mouse models.
Read more

RTE (Ireland) - Over a thousand babies born addicted to drugs in past decade
More than a thousand babies have been diagnosed as being born addicted to or affected by illegal and legal drugs in Ireland over the past decade.
Read more

 

VIDEOS and MATERIALS
Dr. Gwen Empowered - Ep78. What is Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD)?
Shannon Iacobacci comes onto the show to teach us about Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD), it's misconceptions and stigmas, and how we can help individuals and families who are affected by FASD.
Read more

Insight Queensland - 19 April 23: Dr Natasha Reid - Prenatal alcohol exposure and FASD
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) and the potential impacts of prenatal alcohol exposure can be addressed by increasing access to reproductive health care and reducing alcohol use.
Read more

JumpStartPsychology - FASD Levels of functioning
Explore how the concept of "levels of functioning" can be used to explain the support needs of people with FASD.
Read more

Womack AMC - ASAP Class
Read more

Every Moment Matters - EVERY MOMENT MATTERS – COMMUNITY STORIES
We are asking people across Australia to share their experiences. Below are a collection of the personal stories, reflections and quotes about alcohol, pregnancy, and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD).
Read more

Alcohol Awareness - LIVING WITH FETAL ALCOHOL SPECTRUM DISORDER
Guillaume is a young adult with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). He is proud of the path he has taken despite the many obstacles and thanks to the support of his loved ones. With his father, Marc-André, they share their daily life with this disorder with an open heart and without taboos.
Read more

CanFASD - Supporting Mental Health and Wellbeing for Individuals with FASD Across the Lifespan
This is a recording from a webinar with FASD Maine and CanFASD on March 28, 2023 on how to support mental health and wellbeing for people with FASD across the lifespan.
Read more

PreventFASD - Experts agree - Your choices matter
Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder is a neurodevelopmental condition with lifelong cognitive, emotional and behavioural challenges.
Read more

FASD Awareness - Cindy Perkins - FASD Care Management Plans (Webinar #15)
Cindy Perkins (Elucidate Training) discusses  the FASD Care Management Plans – The Voice of the lived Experience with host Andrew Keeping. (A review of the FASD UK Alliance presentation at the FASD Conference in Salford March 2023).
Read more

The Adoption and Fostering Podcast - Podcast Special with Jeff Noble, speaker and host of the FASD Success Podcast
In a short episode Scott chats to Jeff Noble from the Canadian FASD Success Podcast. Jeff is in the Ayr, Scotland to share to experience and insight to FASD and Scott collared him for a quick natter.
Read more

CanFASD Blog - Build a better foundation with our online FASD Courses!
CanFASD has nine different online learning courses available to improve professional and community understanding of FASD.
Read more

NIH Gov - Interagency Coordinating Committee on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (ICCFASD) - April 2023
Public Meeting of the Interagency Coordinating Committee on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (ICCFASD) (open to the public)
Read more

GM FASD Network - Things I wish I'd Known About FASD
The GM FASD Network have put together a resource on "Things I wish I'd Known About FASD" - for parents/carers, professionals, and anyone interested in FASD!
Read more

 

RESEARCH
Journal of Clinical and Translational Endocrinology: Case Reports - Homozygous mutation in the ADH6 gene, involved in alcohol metabolism, associated with a multisystem disorder, analogous to the fetal alcohol syndrome
We identified a novel variant in ADH6, involved in the metabolism of alcohol, in a patient with a hereditary alcohol metabolism encephalopathy syndrome.
Read more

Journal of Intellectual Disabilities - Knowledge, attitudes, and practices towards fetal alcohol spectrum disorder in the New Zealand social and community sector: An online survey
There is a need to improve training, professional development, and workplace support for social and community workers in New Zealand to support people with FASD.
Read more

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health - “Our Mothers Have Handed That to Us. Her Mother Has Handed That to Her”: Urban Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Yarning about Community Wellbeing, Healthy Pregnancies, and the Prevention of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder
In Australia, fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) is a largely hidden disability that is currently under-recognized, under-resourced, and under- or misdiagnosed. Unsurprisingly, efforts to prevent FASD in urban Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities are lacking.
Read more

JMIR Public Health and Surveillance - Racial/Ethnic Disparity in Association Between Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Alcohol Intake During Pregnancy: Multisite Retrospective Cohort Study
The risk of delivering a baby with FAS was comparable among White, Black, and AI/AN women at similar levels of drinking during pregnancy. Regardless of race, a 1-gram increase in AAC resulted in increased odds of giving birth to a baby with facial anomalies or deficient brain growth.
Read more

Australian Social Work - Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders and Social Work Practice in Australia: A Narrative Literature Review
We argue that research about FASD and social work practice can improve social workers’ understanding of the BPSSC characteristics and management of FASD across the life course and contribute to EBP development in these areas in Australian social work.
Read more

Alcohol Research: Current Reviews - Reducing Prenatal Alcohol Exposure and the Incidence of FASD: Is the Past Prologue?
This narrative review summarizes and synthesizes the clinical trials and randomized clinical trials that evaluated selected and targeted approaches to reducing preconception and prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) and alcohol-exposed pregnancy (AEP) since 2011.
Read more

International Journal of Molecular Sciences - Differential Early Mechanistic Frontal Lobe Responses to Choline Chloride and Soy Isoflavones in an Experimental Model of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder
The findings suggest that dietary soy, with the benefits of providing complete nutrition together with Choline, could be used to help optimize neurodevelopment in humans at risk for FASD.
Read more

Biology of Sex Differences - Sex differences in the transcriptome of extracellular vesicles secreted by fetal neural stem cells and effects of chronic alcohol exposure
The EV transcriptome is distinctly different from, and more sex-variant than, the transcriptome of cell-of-origin NSCs. Ethanol, a common teratogen, results in dose-dependent sorting of RNA transcripts from NSCs to EVs which may reprogram the EV-mediated endocrine environment during neurogenesis.
Read more

Plos one - Bioinformatic analysis predicts that ethanol exposure during early development causes alternative splicing alterations of genes involved in RNA post-transcriptional regulation
This bioinformatic analysis provides a reliable list of candidate genes whose splicing is affected by ethanol during nervous system development.
Read more

Ursinus College - Establishing a Method for Microglial Morphology Analysis in Response to Binge Prenatal Alcohol Exposure in Dopaminergic Pathways
This research shifts from the focus on axons to the surrounding microglia that are responsible for axon guidance in developing embryos, especially in the subpallium.
Read more

Neurology International - Sensory Motor Function Disturbances in Mice Prenatally Exposed to Low Dose of Ethanol: A Neurobehavioral Study in Postnatal and Adult Stages
The current data demonstrate the powerful neurotoxic effect of prenatal ethanol exposure on the sensory-motor and coordination functions, leading to suppose possible structural and/or functional neuronal disturbances, particularly the locomotor network.
Read more

Preventing Chronic Disease - Screening and Brief Interventions for Alcohol Use During Pregnancy: Practices Among US Primary Care Clinicians, DocStyles 2019
Pregnancy presents a unique opportunity for clinicians to incorporate screening into routine obstetric care and encourage behavior change among patients.
Read more

Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health - Prenatal alcohol exposure risk perception dimensions and influencing factors: A systematic review and conceptual model
The novel PARP conceptual model developed from the current literature provides a framework to guide understanding of risk perceptions, which includes a wide range of potential influencing factors.
Read more

Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research - Prenatal alcohol exposure and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder independently predict greater substance use in young adulthood
the effects of PAE on alcohol and cannabis use in young adulthood is not attributable to being reared in an environment that is socioeconomically disadvantaged or in one in which there is extensive maternal drinking.
Read more

Tobacco Prevention and Cessation - Interventions for tobacco, alcohol, and cannabis cessation in pregnancy: considerations for design and implementation
The key considerations identified regarding the preferences and expectations of the participants on smoking, alcohol and cannabis interventions should be taken into consideration whilst acknowledging that some of these considerations might be context-dependent.
Read more

Voices in Bioethics - Policies Affecting Pregnant Women with Substance Use Disorder
This article highlights some misconceptions and underscores the challenges they face as they navigate the justice and healthcare systems while also providing possible solutions to address their underlying addiction.
Read more

Obiter - Exploring the feasibility of criminalising maternal substance abuse in South Africa
With alcohol abuse by pregnant women being a significant problem in South Africa, particularly in the rural areas of the Western Cape province, the country carries one of the world's heaviest burdens of foetal alcohol syndrome (FAS).
Read more

Drug and Alcohol Dependence - Polysubstance use during pregnancy: The importance of screening, patient education, and integrating a harm reduction perspective
One in five individuals who reported use of any substance during pregnancy engaged in polysubstance use, highlighting the importance of comprehensive screening and evidence-based interventions including harm reduction.
Read more

 

IN OTHER LANGUAGES
PulsRadomska.pl (Poland) - FAS i FASD, czyli żadna dawka alkoholu nie jest bezpieczna w ciąży!
W sali obrad urzędu miasta w Radomsku podsumowano rozpoczętą 9 września akcję dot. świadomości na temat alkoholowego zespołu płodowego i spektrum płodowych zaburzeń alkoholowych (FAS/FASD).
Read more

Il Fatto Quotidiano (Italy) - La sposa furiosa con la damigella d’onore: “Mi ha rubato la scena all’addio al nubilato parlando della sua malattia, la sindrome alcolica fetale”
La sposa furiosa con la damigella d’onore. Il motivo? Sostiene che l’amica le abbia rubato la scena durante l’addio al nubilato e la cosa proprio non le va giù. Durante la serata, la damigella d’onore ha infatti raccontato di aver ricevuto una diagnosi di sindrome alcolica fetale.
Read more

Wochenblatt Reporter (Germany) - Verleihung des Verdienstkreuzes am Bande des Verdienstordens der Bundesrepublik Deutschland an Katrin Lepke
Für ihre besonderen Verdienste bei der Aufklärung über die Auswirkungen von Alkohol während der Schwangerschaft wurde Katrin Lepke aus Mutterstadt das Bundesverdienstkreuz verliehen.
Read more

Landratsamt Schweinfurt (Germany) - „Kein Alkohol in der Schwangerschaft“ – Präventionsprogramm des Gesundheitsamts Schweinfurt gestartet
Stadt und Landkreis Schweinfurt. Jugendliche und junge Erwachsene frühzeitig über die Gefahren von Alkohol während der Schwangerschaft und Stillzeit informieren – Das ist das erklärte Ziel des neuen Präventionsprogramms des Gesundheitsamts Schweinfurt.
Read more

State of Mind (Italy) - Alcool in gravidanza: gli effetti sui bambini
Differenti studi dimostrano che il Disturbo da deficit di attenzione/iperattività (ADHD) è uno dei disturbi che più si presenta in comorbilità con la sindrome feto alcolica (FASD).
Read more

Britt - DER TALK (Germany) - FASD - Luise erzählt von ihrem Syndrom | 1/3 | Britt
Alkohol ist eine immense Gefahr für das Kind im Mutterleib und kann zu Entwicklungsschäden führen. In der Sendung klären Experten über das Thema auf und Betroffene sprechen darüber, wie die Folgen sie noch heute im Alltag begleiten und einschränken.
Read more

Afasaf Fasd (Spain) - Afasaf ConNecta_ Lo que hemos aprendido del SAF/TEAF: La Perspectiva de las familias. Nuria Beltrán
Se aborda la información que AFASAF ha difundido en charlas a centros de atención primaria, cuerpos de Seguridad, escuela judicial del Consejo General del Poder Judicial y/o centros ocupacionales desde el punto de vista de las familias que llevan años de experiencia educando y cuidando a sus hijos e hijas afectados por SAF / TEAF.
Read more