Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders: An Overview

Abstract

When fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) was initially described, diagnosis was based upon physical parameters including facial anomalies and growth retardation, with evidence of developmental delay or mental deficiency. Forty years of research has shown that FAS lies towards the extreme end of what are now termed fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD). The most profound effects of prenatal alcohol exposure are on the developing brain and the cognitive and behavioral effects that ensue. Alcohol exposure affects brain development via numerous pathways at all stages from neurogenesis to myelination. For example, the same processes that give rise to the facial characteristics of FAS also cause abnormal brain development. Behaviors as diverse as executive functioning to motor control are affected. This special issue of Neuropsychology Review addresses these changes in brain and behavior highlighting the relationship between the two. A diagnostic goal is to recognize FAS as a disorder of brain rather than one of physical characteristics.

Fishing for Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders: Zebrafish as a Model for Ethanol Teratogenesis

“…5 The terminology Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) has been coined to define any defect caused by embryonic or prenatal alcohol exposure. 1,[6][7][8][9] Due to the high prevalence of drinking, FASD is a widespread disease in many ''Westernized'' nations. 8 In the United States alone, amounts of ethanol consumption during pregnancy vary greatly.…”

“…This includes changes to the brain shape and size, with individuals with FAS showing a reduction in total size. 9 In addition, prenatal ethanol exposure has also been shown to reduce the size of the cerebellum and to cause structural changes to the corpus collosum. 9,13 Furthermore, prenatal alcohol exposure is also the leading cause of preventable intellectual disability, 7 impairing both cognition and behavior.…”

Narrativa oral de indivíduos com Transtorno do Espectro Alcoólico Fetal

“…The term FASD encompasses different clinical subgroups depending on the condition and the degree of compromise, while Fetal Alcohol Syndrome -FAS is the most compromised subgroup with this clinical condition (2,3) , characterized according to the diagnostic triad: (1) deficits in growth, (2) facial characteristics, and (3) Central Nervous System (CNS) impairments invariably associated with gestational exposure to alcohol.…”

“…Oral language impairments, particularly syntactic and semantic components, have been described as the most affected ones in FASD (2) . These changes were described in the studies focusing on assessment of spoken language by means of standardized language tests (16) , as well as in those which prioritized naturalistic samples of spoken language, such as story narration (13,14,17,19) .…”

Maternal alcohol intake induces dramatic ultrastructural changes in offspring brain cortex neurons

“…According to the published data, the cerebral cortex is particularly sensitive to prenatal exposure to alcohol. Ethanol induces apoptosis, degeneration, reduction in the amount and size of brain cortex neurons, the decrease in their protein content, hypoplasia of cytoplasm [3][4][5][6][7]. There is data suggesting that prenatal alcohol expose reduces the survival of neurons and disrupts their functions causing oxidative stress, DNA damage and mitochondrial dysfunction, as well as suppression of signals of insulin needed to ensure their viability, metabolism, formation of synapses and synthesis of acetylcholine [8][9][10].…”