Aims

To support the free and open dissemination of research findings and information on alcoholism and alcohol-related problems. To encourage open access to peer-reviewed articles free for all to view.

For full versions of posted research articles readers are encouraged to email requests for "electronic reprints" (text file, PDF files, FAX copies) to the corresponding or lead author, who is highlighted in the posting.

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Monday, May 7, 2012

FASD News - 18/2012



NEWS AND ARTICLES
Global Edmonton (Canada) - Music Every year in Alberta, hundreds of babies are born with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, but a new music video released in partnership with Edmonton's Bissell Centre and the local Fetal Alcohol Network hopes to stop that trend.
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SBS (Australia) - Community exposes pregnant drinking taboo
The first prevalence study of babies affected by prenatal drinking is underway, but one parent is bravely taking a film about her affected 14-year-old boy to the UN in New York.
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The Bay of Plenty Times (New Zealand) - Editorial: Just one glass is not okay
There's a lot made in Hollywood of the pregnancy glow, but for most of us garden variety sheilas, it's hard graft and far from glamorous. So, when your partner takes you out for dinner to commemorate the half-way mark of the incubation process, or your girlfriends drag your hefty frame out for a swanky high tea baby shower, isn't it okay to have a glass of bubbles? Just one glass?
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Bay News 9 (USA) - HERO: Fetal Alcohol Syndrome survivor educates others
Born with a condition that makes life more difficult than usual, Chanel Torres works daily to turn her personal tragedy into triumph for others. She was born with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome.
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ABC News (USA) - Beer Companies Seek Dismissal of Reservation Suit
Beer vendors in a tiny Nebraska town would be forced to discriminate against residents of a neighboring South Dakota American Indian reservation if a judge agrees with a lawsuit accusing the retailers and others of knowingly contributing to the reservation's alcohol-related problems, attorneys said in asking for the lawsuit to be dismissed.
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KPBS (USA) - San Diego Center Promotes Maternal Health And Infant Development
Almost a half-million babies are born prematurely every year in the U.S. The encouraging news is early births are declining compared to several years ago. The Center for the Promotion of Maternal Health and Infant Development opened in San Diego this week and is the first center in California to focus solely on improving the health of mother and baby .
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NY Times - The Criminalization of Bad Mothers
When Kimbrough tested positive for methamphetamine, her two daughters were swiftly removed from her custody, and for 90 days, she was allowed only supervised visits. Social services mandated parenting classes and drug treatment.
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MATERIALS
The Healthy Aboriginal Network - It Takes a Village
our maternal child health book is about Lara, a young mom-to-be that is visited by Danis, a stranger. Danis teaches Lara the importance of eating healthy foods, avoiding alcohol, breastfeeding, keeping dad involved and bonding with your baby.
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nti upstream - Webinar #1 DVD Video: Controversies in the Diagnosis of FASD
A federal committee has been meeting for more than three years in an attempt to define the neurobehavioral profile of children affected by prenatal exposure to alcohol. These efforts have been complicated by the lack of consensus regarding criteria for each of the diagnoses within Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders and inconsistencies in diagnosis in the published literature. This webinar will present the most current thinking around these issues and implications for establishing Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and related disorders as a diagnostic code within the DSM-V.
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NeuroDevNet (Canada) - FASD Family Support (video)
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NeuroDevNet (Canada) - FASD Awareness and Prevention (video)
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RESEARCH
J Popul Ther Clin Pharmacol - Social Problem Solving in Children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders
Children with FASD show reduced ability in generating solutions for social dilemmas. By understanding this weakness, which may partially explain the social skill deficiencies in FASD, targeted therapies may be designed to improve social functioning following prenatal alcohol exposure.
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Alcohol and Alcoholism - Evaluation of the Impact of the Image Used in a Communication Campaign to Raise Awareness about the Effects of Alcohol Use During Pregnancy
To assess the impact of the advertising image used in the health communication campaign ‘Mummy Drinks Baby Drinks’, aimed to raise awareness about the effects of drinking alcohol during pregnancy in the childbearing-aged population of the Local Health Authority of Treviso (Italy). The image depicted a foetus inside a glass of a local alcoholic drink.
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Alcoholism - Gene Expression Changes in C57BL/6J and DBA/2J Mice Following Prenatal Alcohol Exposure
Prenatal alcohol exposure can result in fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD). Not all women who consume alcohol during pregnancy have children with FASD and studies have shown that genetic factors can play a role in ethanol teratogenesis.
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Addictive Behaviours - Maternal Self Concept as a Provider and Cessation of Substance Use During Pregnancy
Maternal substance use during pregnancy is a common modifiable risk factor for poor birth outcomes, and is associated with long term psychological risks to offspring. As self concept is known to affect substance use behaviors in non-pregnant women, we hypothesized that self concept as a provider may be particularly salient to cessation of use during pregnancy.
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Alcoholism - Choline Supplementation and DNA Methylation in the Hippocampus and Prefrontal Cortex of Rats Exposed to Alcohol During Development
Some of the most frequent deficits seen in children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) and in animal models of FASD are spatial memory impairments and impaired executive functioning, which are likely related to alcohol-induced alterations of the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex (PFC), respectively.
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DMCN - Heavy maternal alcohol consumption and cerebral palsy in the offspring
The aim of this study was to investigate the association between heavy maternal alcohol consumption and pre- peri- and postneonatally acquired cerebral palsy (CP).
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BMJ Open - The Lililwan Project: study protocol for a population-based active case ascertainment study of the prevalence of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) in remote Australian Aboriginal communities
Relationships between pregnancy exposures and early life trauma, neurodevelopmental, health and education outcomes will be evaluated using regression analysis. Results will be reported according to STROBE guidelines for observational studies.
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