FASD- FETAL ALCOHOL SPECTRUM DISORDER

NEWSLETTERS and ARTICLES

 

NEWSLETTER

  • NOFAS, National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, newsletter Weekly Roundup. Sign up on their website https://www.nofas.org/weekly-roundup/ Includes, webinar information, resources, events, policy, news, articles, research, and more.

ARTICLES 

  • Accommodations are AWESOME, An Interview with Wendy Brown, The “FASD Informed” podcast series, produced by the North Carolina nonprofit NCFASD Informed has a new episode featuring Wendy Brown, a Certified FASCETS Trainer. Other podcasts are available too.
  • Alcohol Use During Pregnancy Linked to Offspring Depression “Children of mothers who drink alcohol during pregnancy may be at an increased risk of developing depression in late adolescence, according to a new study published in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.
  • CDC Releases New Video on Obtaining Prenatal Alcohol History in a Pediatric Setting. CDC has released new supplemental learning, a short 6-minute video, which provides tips for obtaining prenatal alcohol exposure history in pediatric settings and how to avoid stigmatizing language when exploring
    this information with parents or caregivers.  
  • CDC: Addressing Alcohol Use in Pregnancy
    This important new paper is a product of CDC’s FASD prevention program, of which NOFAS is a proud partner.  Lead author Ann Mitchell and her co-authors are partners with the CDC’s collaborative project as part of the nursing DSW (discipline-specific workgroup).
    - American Journal of Nursing
  • Computer-Aided Recognition of Facial Attributes for Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders. This study concludes that “We found there was an increased diagnostic accuracy for ARND via our computer-aided method.                                                                     
  • FASD is Higher Than Autism Spectrum Disorders, fetal alcohol disorders much more common than prior estimates.
  • FASD Predisposes to Metabolic Abnormalities in Adulthood. This study describes “a cohort of adults with FASDs that had an increased incidence of metabolic abnormalities, including type 2 diabetes, low HDL, high triglycerides, and female-specific overweight and obesity… our findings define metabolic vulnerabilities due to Embryonic alcohol exposure (EAE) and provide evidence that behavioral changes and primary organ dysfunction contribute to resultant metabolic abnormalities." - The Journal of Clinical Investigation  
  • Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder and Systems of Care: Intervention at a Higher Level.  Authored by: Gordon R. Hodas MD, PAFASD Task Force.  The federal government estimates tens of millions of children and adults have lifelong impairment from fetal alcohol syndrome or fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. That doesn’t cover the cost of prisons and jails, which is where a lot of people with FASD end up. Unlike the high profile attempts to address opioids, fetal alcohol syndrome and the broader issue of alcoholism have few champions on or off Capitol Hill. This article discusses where we have been and where we need to go with FASD.
  • First Mobile App for Caregivers of Children With FASD Reaches Trial Stage “Christie Petrenko and Cristiano Tapparello created the first mobile phone app for caregivers of children with FASD, called FMF (Families Moving Foreward) Connect…Focus groups members—made up exclusively of caregivers of children with FASD— liked what they saw.  “Responses were generally enthusiastic,” says Petrenko. The caregivers liked that the information was easily accessible and organized, and they could connect with others." - University of Rochester Newscenter    
  • Global News, First of its kind database aims to reveal how FASD affects Canadians. The Canada FASD Research Network (CanFASD) is launching the first national database, and first globally, on the disorder.
  • Harmed before birth, America's 'lost children' overshadowed by the opioid crisis. The federal government estimates tens of millions of children and adults have lifelong impairment from fetal alcohol syndrome or fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. Many people with FASD end up in prison. Unlike the high profile attempts to address opioids, FASD and the broader issue of alcoholism have few champions on or off Capitol Hill. 
  • Increased Ethanol Intake is Associated with Social Anxiety in Offspring Exposed to Ethanol. “These data indicate that PAE differentially affects the interactions between social anxiety, ethanol intake, and drinking context in males and females. These findings extend our understanding of the complexity and persistence of PAE’s sex-dependent effects into adulthood.”- Behavioural Brain Research 
  • Landmark Legislation: A Victory for the FASD Community. “This year as a priority of NOFAS Affiliate Proof Alliance’s legislative platform, major legislation that requires all children entering foster care be screened for prenatal exposure to alcohol in Minnesota was passed and signed into law. It is believed Minnesota is the first state in the nation to pass this legislation.  Proof Alliance will be providing the training and screening tools for all counties across the state.”  
  • Prevalence of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders in 4 US Communities,  Journal of American Medical Association.
  • Prevalence Studies in Special Issue of Medical Journal  The issue features new research on FASD prevalence in cities in the Midwest, Rocky Mountain region, and the southeastern United States.
  • A Randomized Controlled Trial of Transcranial Direct-Current Stimulation and Cognitive Training in Children with FASD. Improvement in attention was noted.“This study was a randomized double-blind sham-controlled trial examining the effects of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) augmented cognitive training (CT) in children with FASD  
  • A Review of Studies Exploring FASD Through Eye-Tracking Measures. Studies mostly focused on perception, memory, and executive functions.  This information comes from www.nofas.org. 
  • Signs of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Detected in Womb  “New magnetic resonance imaging showed impairments to brain growth during the third trimester of pregnancy, even though the fetus was exposed to alcohol only during the first trimester.  - Neuroscience News   
  • Sleep Disturbance as a Predictor of Anxiety in Children With FASD and Typically Developing Children “This is the largest study to examine sleep in FASD.  We report that a significant proportion of anxiety can be predicted by sleep problems.  Children with FASD experienced significantly higher levels of sleep problems and anxiety than typically developing children, the majority at clinical levels.  Sleep interventions should be a clinical priority for children with FASD.” - Research in Developmental Disabilities
  • Study: Any Level of Drinking or Smoking While Pregnant May Affect Your Newborn's Brain Development
    This CNN article reports, “Researchers found drinking or smoking of any level while pregnant — from low to high, and even if you quit early — influenced the brain development of the mothers' newborns. Negative long-term effects of excessive prenatal alcohol or tobacco exposure (or both), increase the risk for multiple adverse outcomes, researchers observed    
  • Treating, Understanding Substance Use in Pregnant Women “As part of an American Psychiatric Association (APA) meeting, Kimberly A.Yonkers, MD, of the Yale University School of Medicine, discussed national data-based understandings of substance use among women who are pregnant.  Yonkers also appealed for the implementation of both universal and health equity approaches to addressing the prevalence of such cases.                                         

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