Integrating Research, Policy and Promising Practice Around the World: A Catalyst for Change

The 3rd International Conference on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder - PowerPoint Presentations! These files from the conference are now available for download.

Några av titlarna:

• Long term Follow-Up Study of children with FASD in Young AdulthoodHans-Ludwig Spohr



• Developing an Adult FASD Diagnostic Clinic: The Victoria BC ExperienceJonathan Down, Grace Gerry, Kathy Horne



• Prenatal Diagnosis of FASD – Is It Possible?Andrew D. Hull



• Status of FASD Prevention in Nine Areas in France, and Recommendation to Support FASD Prevention in FranceDenis Lamblin, Sylvie Kunchten

Se alla presentationerna här >>>


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Eye test could help diagnose fetal alcohol syndrome

James Reynolds, a professor at the Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology at Queen's University in Kingston, Ont. has developed a test that he believes can pinpoint those children with the disorder.
Reynolds has found that children exposed to alcohol in utero have slower eye movements than healthy children.

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20th Annual ENTIS meeting

ENTIS, European Network of Teratology Information Services,

The general objective for ENTIS is to coordinate and collaborate the activities of the different Teratology Information Services (TIS), and to collect and evaluate data in order to contribute to the primary prevention of birth defects and developmental disorders.

The 20th meeting of European Network of Teratology Information Services (ENTIS) will be organised by Servizio di Tossicologica Perinatale and will take place in Firenze, Italy, from May 29 – 31, 2009.

.

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CTIS Pregnancy Risk Information Line

The CTIS Pregnancy Risk Information Line has a new website! We've worked hard to become more user friendly and accessible. Please take a few moments to visit our new site.

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New NIAAA site on drinking

Do you enjoy a drink now and then? Many of us do, often when socializing with friends and family. Drinking can be beneficial or harmful, depending on your age and health status, and, of course, how much you drink.

For anyone who drinks, this site offers valuable, research-based information. What do you think about taking a look at your drinking habits and how they may affect your health? Rethinking Drinking can help you get started.

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Binge Drinking During Pregnancy and Risk of Seizures in Childhood: A Study Based on the Danish National Birth Cohort

Results showed that exposure to binge drinking episodes during pregnancy was not associated with an increased risk of seizure disorders in children, except for those exposed at 11–16 gestational weeks. These children had a 3.15-fold increased risk of neonatal seizures (95% confidence interval: 1.37, 7.25) and a 1.81-fold increased risk of epilepsy (95% confidence interval: 1.13, 2.90). These findings suggest that maternal binge drinking during a specific time period of pregnancy may be associated with an increased risk of specific seizure disorders in the offspring. The results are exploratory, however, and need to be replicated.


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35th Annual Alcohol Epidemiology Symposium of the Kettil Bruun Society (KBS 2009) in Copenhagen, June 1-5, 2009

The primary purpose of the conference is to provide a forum where researchers involved in studies on alcohol can exchange ideas about their ongoing research. The scope of the symposium includes studies of determinants and consequences of drinking, drinking practices, attitudes and the social and institutional responses to drinking related harms. Empirical research, theoretical papers and reviews of the literature are welcome. Epidemiology is broadly construed and includes research in a variety of disciplines, such as psychology, sociology, criminology, economics, history and other disciplines.

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Binge drinking comes to France

Until a few years ago, many French people were convinced that their cafe society and laissez-faire approach to alcohol made them immune to binge drinking.
But times, and drinking habits, have changed. The government recognises the problem and plans to raise the legal age for buying alcohol from 16 to 18 next year.
In some parts of Paris, municipal authorities have already targeted teenage drunkenness by declaring "dry areas" where drinking on the streets is banned at night.

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Moms-to-Be Who Drink May Damage Fetus' White Matter

Drinking alcohol during pregnancy can damage white matter in a fetus' frontal and occipital lobes, which play a major role in executive function and visual processing. The finding may help explain problems seen in infants whose mothers drink during pregnancy, a new study says.
"The brain's white matter is made up of nerve bundles that transfer information between brain regions," study corresponding author Susanna L. Fryer, a researcher at San Diego State University's Center for Behavioral Teratology, said in a news release.

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Published Reports Inaccurate Concerning Alcohol Consumption During Pregnancy

A national alcohol research group is concerned that the media's misinterpretation of a recent British research study could encourage pregnant women to be more at ease with temperate alcohol consumption.
Some media reports erroneously stated that the study by The University College London researchers revealed that light drinking by pregnant women could be beneficial to their babies. Other articles said light drinking during pregnancy would not affect the behavior or mental acuity of babies born to drinking mothers.

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The Fatal Link - The Connection Between School Shooters and the Brain Damage from Prenatal Exposure to Alcohol

Jody Allen Crowe presents a compelling look at the silent epidemic of prenatal exposure to alcohol and the undeniable connection to school shooters. He was an elementary student in 1966 when, in his hometown high school, David Black became the first adolescent school shooter in the nation. Memories of that day stayed with the author throughout his career as an educator on reservations across the nation. When the Red Lake High School became the scene of a school shooting in 2005, Crowe was uniquely positioned to see the similarities between his hometown shooter and the Red Lake shooter, as well as the evidence of brain damage from prenatal exposure to alcohol in both cases. The Fatal Link provides a glimpse into Crowe’s twenty years of experience with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder and reveals the connection between school shooters and their mother’s drinking patterns.

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Apoptosis Inhibitors Prevent Not Only Cell Death, But Also Play A Role In Cell Migration

One of the defining characteristics of cancer cells is that they systematically prevent programmed cell death (apoptosis), with which the body guards itself against the proliferation of defective cells. In order to do this, they express so-called apoptosis inhibitors (IAPs) among other proteins. Many of the cancer drugs currently undergoing clinical trials target IAPs, since if the levels of IAPs are reduced, tumour cells will be destroyed by the body's own self-protecting mechanism or by the chemotherapeutic drugs. However, as a research group from the Goethe University in Frankfurt, working with scientists at the Universities of Würzburg and Philadelphia have recently discovered, IAPs also have another life: they control cell migration.

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How Mental Health Care Affects Outcomes For Foster Children

A new study co-written by Jung Min Park and Joseph P. Ryan, professors in the School of Social Work at the University of Illinois, followed 5,978 children in foster care in Illinois for several years to determine whether these children’s placement and permanency outcomes were affected by their histories of intensive mental health treatment. The statewide sample included all children and adolescents 3-18 years of age who entered foster care for the first time between 1997 and 2001. They were observed through June 2005.

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Effects of prenatal alcohol exposure on hippocampal volume, verbal learning, and verbal and spatial recall in late childhood

Results revealed smaller left hippocampi and poorer verbal learning and verbal and spatial recall performance in children with FASDs than controls, as well as positive correlations between selective memory indices and hippocampal volumes only in the FASD group. Additionally, hippocampal volumes increased significantly with age in controls only, suggesting that PAE may be associated with long-term abnormalities in hippocampal development that may contribute to impaired verbal learning and verbal and spatial recall.


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Even moderate drinking in pregnancy harmful

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Children born to women who have as little as one drink a week during pregnancy are more likely to have symptoms of behavior problems as teens, according to research published this month in the journal Pediatrics. To better understand the independent role of alcohol exposure in pregnancy, Disney and her colleagues looked at 1,252 17-year-olds enrolled in the Minnesota Twins Family Study and their parents.

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The 3rd International Conference on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder

FASD is a window through which to view the state of our world. While it has a profound impact on individuals, families and all aspects of society, it is also a stimulus for change. This international conference will provide a forum to discuss and examine current research, policy and practice that will assist parents, caregivers, service systems and governments as they strive to prevent FASD and to provide a range of supports for people living with it. The emphasis of this conference will be the practical application of various forms of research covering these broad areas:

Biomedical
Clinical Diagnosis & Assessment
Health
Legal, justice, correction
Social Services
Family
Education
Community

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Study: Paying more for alcohol saves lives

Each time the state of Alaska raised its alcoholic beverage tax, fewer deaths were caused by or related to alcohol, according to the study that examined 28 years of data.

When Alaska raised its alcohol tax in 1983, deaths caused by or related to alcohol dropped 29 percent. A 2002 tax increase was followed by an 11 percent reduction, according to the study published in the American Journal of Public Health.

"Increasing alcohol taxes saves lives; that's the bottom line," said the study's lead author, Dr. Alexander Wagenaar, a professor at the University of Florida's Department of Epidemiology and Health Policy Research. "The tax increase caused some reduction in consumption of alcohol. The reduction saved lives."

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Warning labels on alcoholic drinks soon law (Sydafrika)

IN less than four months‘ time all alcoholic drinks will come with a warning label.
Anti-alcohol lobby groups are happy about the move, but industry insiders fear it is just the tip of the iceberg in the government‘s fast-tightening grip on the multi-billion rand industry.

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Drinking beer dangerous

Namibia Breweries Limited (NBL) has responded to South Africa’s new law, which requires all alcoholic beverages to carry a health warning message on their labels, by placing hazard signs on its intoxicating products.
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Measurement of direct ethanol metabolites suggests higher rate of alcohol use among pregnant women than found with the AUDIT...

In all, our sample identified 25% of
subjects as possible alcohol consumers.
Of those with positive biomarkers, 3 had
acknowledged any alcohol use in the
AUDIT questionnaire, although at very
low levels. Furthermore, of the 7 subjects
in the current study whose EtG or FAEE
levels in hair that were highly suspicious
for heavy drinking, only 1 had admitted
to ongoing alcohol consumption in the
AUDIT questionnaire. Clearly, subjects
may underestimate their alcohol useand/or
be unwilling to disclose their
drinking habits during pregnancy. Although
negative results for direct ethanol
metabolites are not considered proof
of abstinence, we argue that when positive,
they provide strong evidence for
moderate or excessive drinking.

Läs mer >>>

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Warning labels on alcoholic drinks soon law

IN less than four months‘ time all alcoholic drinks will come with a warning label.
Anti-alcohol lobby groups are happy about the move, but industry insiders fear it is just the tip of the iceberg in the government‘s fast-tightening grip on the multi-billion rand industry.
As with the tobacco industry – which first was forced by law to put warning labels on all cigarette packets, followed by a ban on advertising – the alcohol industry is scrambling to prepare itself for a marketing blackout which they believe is only “a matter of time”.
Already major retailers have started receiving liquor supplies with the warning labels which read: “Alcohol reduces driving ability – don‘t drink and drive” and “Drinking during pregnancy can be harmful to your unborn baby”.
Läs mer >>>

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One third of pregnant women secretly drink alcohol, survey finds

But one in 10 mothers-to-be believe that drinking doesn't do as much damage as experts claim, according to the survey by baby charity Tommy's.
A total of 1,300 women were questioned for the survey.

The survey also found that one in 10 women did not know how much a unit of alcohol is.

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Obstetrik, ny lärobok

Den nya läroboken är resultatet av ett unikt samarbete mellan ett stort antal specialkunniga läkare och barnmorskor inom svensk obstetrik. Boken vänder sig till läkarstuderande på grundutbildningen samt till läkare och barnmorskor som är verksamma inom såväl öppen som sluten vård. Den kan även användas som fördjupnings- och referensbok.
Kapitlet Drogmissbruk under graviditet bahandlas av Mona Göransson och Ihsan Sarman.
På bokens webbplats kan du som lärare ladda ner bokens illustrationer som PowerPoint-presentation på Studentlitteraturs hemsida. Länkar till presentationerna kan också fås via mail från FAS-föreningen. Kontakta FAS@telia.com
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Alarming Prevalence of Fetal Alcohol Exposure in a Mediterranean City

In conclusion, the preliminary results of this study, which highlights a 45% ethanol consumption during pregnancy in a low socioeconomic status cohort from a Mediterranean city, may serve as an eye opener for Europeans that gestational ethanol exposure is endemic not only in areas outside of Europe.

Of critical importance, alcohol consumption by pregnant women in Mediterranean countries may be different from that of North European regions: daily consumption of mainly wine and beer during principal meals is a common pattern. In agreement with this, approximately 50% of Spanish women declared daily ethanol consumption in the most recent Spanish National Survey on Drug abuse.13 In this context, early postnatal diagnosis of fetal exposure to maternal alcohol by meconium analysis of FAEEs should be advocated for all newborns because age at diagnosis is a prognostic factor for FASD, and evidence of maternal drinking is a critical
prerequisite.

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Verbal and Visuospatial Learning and Memory Function in Children With Moderate Prenatal Alcohol Exposure

Prenatal alcohol exposure during the first trimester predicted deficits in learning, short-term memory, and long-term memory, specifically in the verbal domain. Deficits in performance were specific to learning and memory of word-pairs. In addition, deficits in memory were mediated by learning performance.

Results demonstrated that prenatal alcohol exposure lead to deficits in encoding processes as indicated by deficits in verbal learning. Initial deficits in acquisition were responsible for deficits in immediate and delayed recall of verbal information in children who were exposed to alcohol during pregnancy but did not have fetal alcohol syndrome.

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Fetal alcohol syndrome prevention in Washington State:

A cross-sectional study was conducted to determine whether the prevalence of fetal alcohol syndrome among children in a foster care population, born between 1993 and 1998, decreased with the documented decrease in prevalence of maternal use of alcohol during pregnancy from 1993 and 1998 in Washington State. The prevalence of maternal drinking during pregnancy in Washington State declined significantly (0.001) from 1993 to 1998 as did the prevalence of fetal alcohol syndrome among foster children born 1993–98 (0.03). These observations support the likelihood that fetal alcohol syndrome prevention efforts in Washington State are working successfully.

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Binge Drinking During Pregnancy as a Predictor ofPsychiatric Disorders on the Structured Clinical Interviewfor DSM-IV in Young Adult Offspring

The odds of the appearance of six psychiatric disorders and traits were more than double in adults exposed to one or more binge alcohol episodes in utero. Three of these six odds ratios were uniformly stable against confounding: axis I substance dependence or abuse disorders and axis II passive-aggressive and antisocial personality disorders or traits. Conclusions: Prenatal exposure to alcohol may be a risk factor for specific psychiatric disorders and traits in early adulthood, even in a nonclinical group

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Eurocare holds successful Evening Reception on Alcohol and Pregnancy in European Parliament

Over 50 people attended the Eurocare Evening Reception in the European Parliament, marking ”International Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) Awareness Day” on Tuesday 9th September 2008.

Hosted by MEPs Ms Mairead McGuinness (EPP, IE) and Ms Catherine Stihler (PSE, UK), the reception was attended by a number of MEPs including Jules Maaten (ALDE, NL), Glenis Willmott (PSE, UK), Mary Lou McDonald (GUE, IE) among others.
The reception was also attended by a number of Eurocare member organisations as well as representatives of NGOs supporting the Eurocare "Alcohol and Pregnancy" campaign (European Public Health Alliance (EPHA), Confederation of Family Organisations (COFACE), Mental Health Europe, and the Standing Committee of European Doctors (CPME).
The reception was a unique opportunity to learn more about Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders, and discuss the different policy options to curb its incidence, notably, the labelling of alcoholic beverages.

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Maelstrom Quashes Jumping Genes

Scientists have known for decades that certain genes (called transposons) can jump around the genome in an individual cell. This activity can be dangerous, however, especially when it arises in cells that produce eggs and sperm. Such changes can threaten the offspring and the success of a species. To ensure the integrity of these cells, nature developed a mechanism to quash this genetic scrambling, but how it works has remained a mystery. Now a team of scientists, including researchers at the Carnegie Institution's Department of Embryology, has identified a key protein that suppresses jumping genes in mouse sperm and found that the protein is vital to sperm formation.

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Researchers Block Damage to Fetal Brain Following Maternal Alcohol Consumption

Newswise — In a study on fetal alcohol syndrome, researchers were able to prevent the damage that alcohol causes to cells in a key area of the fetal brain by blocking acid sensitive potassium channels and preventing the acidic environment that alcohol produces. The cerebellum, the portion of the brain that is responsible for balance and muscle coordination, is particularly vulnerable to injury from alcohol during development.
The researchers also found that although alcohol lowers the amount of oxygen in the blood of the mother, it is not the lack of oxygen that damages the fetal cerebellum, but the drop in pH.

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Alcohol Binges Early in Pregnancy Increase Risk of Infant Oral Clefts

A new study by researchers at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), part of the National Institutes of Health, shows that pregnant women who binge drink early in their pregnancy increase the likelihood that their babies will be born with oral clefts.

The researchers found that women who consumed an average of five or more drinks per sitting were more than twice as likely than non-drinkers to have an infant with either of the two major infant oral clefts: cleft lip with or without cleft palate, or cleft palate alone. Women who drank at this level on three or more occasions during the first trimester were three times as likely to have infants born with oral clefts.

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Children's Cognitive Ability From 4 to 9 Years Old as a Function of Prenatal Cocaine Exposure, Environmental Risk, and Maternal Verbal Intelligence

This study examined the effects of prenatal cocaine exposure, environmental risk, and maternal verbal intelligence on children's cognitive ability. Gender and age were examined as moderators of potential cocaine exposure effects. The Stanford–Binet IV intelligence test was administered to 231 children (91 cocaine exposed, 140 unexposed) at ages 4, 6, and 9 years. Neonatal medical risk and other prenatal exposures (alcohol, cigarettes, and marijuana) were also examined for their unique effects on child IQ.

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Water-diffusion technology identifies brain regions damaged by prenatal alcohol exposure

Scientists know that children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) often have structural brain damage. Yet little is known about how white matter connections, and deep gray matter structures that act as relay stations, are affected in children with FASD. A new study has used diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to identify several specific white matter regions as well as deep gray matter areas of the brain that appear sensitive to prenatal alcohol exposure.
Results will be published in the October issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research and are currently available at Early View.

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4TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON BIRTH DEFECTS & DISABILITIES IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD

Every year an estimated 7.8 million children are born in the world with a serious genetic or acquired birth defect. Of these 3.3 million die each year. The impact of birth defects is particularly severe in developing countries where 90% of births and 95% of deaths of children with serious birth defects occur. The conference is timely as most developing countries lack comprehensive programs for care and control of birth defects, either because their importance is underestimated or because they perceive lack of resources. This conference will demonstrate why both these notions are incorrect.

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MicroRNA Implicated As Molecular Factor In Alcohol Tolerance

In recent years, a class of small molecules known as microRNA have been found to play an important role in regulating gene products in most animal and plant species. A new study now indicates that microRNA may influence the development of alcohol tolerance, a hallmark of alcohol abuse and dependence.

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Peptidergic Agonists of Activity-Dependent Neurotrophic Factor Protect Against Prenatal Alcohol-Induced Neural Tube Defects and Serotonin Neuron Loss

Prenatal alcohol exposure via maternal liquid diet consumption by C57BL/6 (B6) mice causes conspicuous midline neural tube deficit (dysraphia) and disruption of genesis and development of serotonin (5-HT) neurons in the raphe nuclei, together with brain growth retardation. The current study tested the hypothesis that concurrent treatment with either an activity-dependent neurotrophic factor (ADNF) agonist peptide [SALLRSIPA, (SAL)] or an activity-dependent neurotrophic protein (ADNP) agonist peptide [NAPVSIPQ, (NAP)] would protect against these alcohol-induced deficits in brain development.

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Ny forsking om rusbarn

Forskarar ved Haukeland Universitetssjukehus har funne ut at barn utsett for narkotiske stoff i svangerskapet, har fleire nevropsykologiske skadar enn barn utsett for alkohol i svangerskapet. Vi fann signifikante utslag på konsentrasjon, merksemd, impulskontroll og generell regulering av åtferd hos barn utsett for narkotiske stoff i svangerskapet, fortel nevropsykolog Sidsel Bruarøy ved Barneklinikken på Haukeland.
– Over 90 prosent av barna framsto med ADHD. Av 130 barn vart 103 diagnostisert å ha ADHD. Også blant barn utsett for alkohol i svangerskapet er delen ADHD- barn høg, men det er likevel forskjellar.

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The Association Between Major Birth Defects and Preterm Birth

Abstract Objective To evaluate the association between preterm birth and major birth defects by maternal and infant characteristics and specific types of birth defects. Study Design We pooled data for 1995–2000 from 13 states with population-based birth defects surveillance systems, representing about 30% of all U.S. births. Analyses were limited to singleton, live births from 24–44 weeks gestational age. Results Overall, birth defects were more than twice as common among preterm births (24–36 weeks) compared with term births (37–41 weeks gestation) (prevalence ratio [PR] = 2.65, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.62–2.68), and approximately 8% of preterm births had a birth defect. Birth defects were over five times more likely among very preterm births (24–31 weeks gestation) compared with term births (PR = 5.25, 95% CI 5.15–5.35), with about 16% of very preterm births having a birth defect. Defects most strongly associated with very preterm birth included central nervous system defects (PR = 16.23, 95% CI 15.49–17.00) and cardiovascular defects (PR = 9.29, 95% CI 9.03–9.56). Conclusions Birth defects contribute to the occurrence of preterm birth. Research to identify shared causal pathways and risk factors could suggest appropriate interventions to reduce both preterm birth and birth defects.

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WHO adopts Swedish alcohol resolution - Cuba fick ge sig

The WHO, in a press release summarizing the results of the assembly, recognized that work needed to be intensified to "curb the harmful use of alcohol" which is the fifth leading risk factor for death and disability in the world.

Sweden has pushed hard for the development of a global strategy and has received the backing of its Scandinavian neighbours in lobbying for the adoption of a 'Swedish' view on alcohol policy.

The resolution brought by Sweden and the other Nordic countries at the World Health Assembly in 2007 failed in the face of opposition from Cuba, a significant alcohol producer.

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Having a Drink During Pregnancy Is Common for French Women

More than half of women in France continue to drink alcohol during their pregnancies, according to a new French study. However, the researchers also found that most of these women are uninformed about the risks to their babies’ health.

The study, published in the May issue of Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, compiled data from 837 pregnant women at public and private obstetric centers who participated in the study between July 2003 and June 2004.

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New MRI Technique Detects Subtle But Serious Brain Injury

A new technique for analyzing magnetic resonance imaging data, developed by researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center, can reveal serious brain injury missed by current tests and help predict a patient’s degree of recovery.In brain injuries sustained when the head suddenly stops moving — during a motor vehicle accident, for instance — the force can shear and damage nerve cells. This kind of injury does not show up on computerized tomography scans, the researchers said, and magnetic resonance imaging does not yet reliably detect this type of injury.“This is a new way of measuring a common injury that has been overlooked,” said Dr. Ramón Díaz-Arrastia, professor of neurology and senior author of the paper, which appears in the May issue of the journal Archives of Neurology.

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Moderate Drinking Raises Risk of Mouth Cancer, Researchers Say

Drinking just two glasses of wine daily can cause a 75-percent increase in the risk of developing mouth cancer, according to Australian researchers.
The Telegraph reported May 12 that the study from the Cancer Institute of New South Wales also found that drinking a similar amount of alcohol increases the risk of breast cancer among women by 22 percent, and that men increase their risk of bowel cancer by 64 percent if they consume four units of alcohol daily.
Moderate alcohol consumption also was linked to higher risk of esophageal and larynx cancer. "We don't want a general scare, but the fact is that alcohol consumption on a regular basis, even at moderate levels, can increase the risk," said Jim Bishop, CEO of the Cancer Institute. "Clearly for cardiac disease it may be that red wine is helpful, but for cancer we cannot see any benefit at all from alcohol."

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Fourth International Conference on Birth Defects and Disabilities in the Developing World

The theme of the Fourth International Conference is "Translating Research into Cost-effective Services for the Care and Prevention of Birth Defects, Preterm Birth and Consequent Disabilities."

The conference will be organized around five central themes. A focus of each will be on the presentation of successful models of care and prevention around the world.

• Surveillance, monitoring and needs assessment;


• Care of neonates and children with birth defects and disabilities;


• Prevention of birth defects and disabilities;


• Local, regional and global networks to strengthen the quality of health service delivery and promote community awareness; and


• Clinical genetics in its broad sense, including dysmorphology, metabolic disorders, thalassemia, muscular dystrophy and mental retardation, genetic predisposition to common chronic illnesses, etc.

The conference will be structured to encourage dialogue and the sharing of experiences among health care providers, researchers, parent/patient group representatives, policy makers and other stakeholders from developing and industrialized countries.

Birth defects, preterm birth and small for date births have received relatively little attention to date by international health policy makers. Yet the global toll of death and disability from both is high. Each year an estimated 7.9 million children are born with a serious genetic birth defect. Of these, 3.3 million die within the first five years of life. Preterm birth is estimated to complicate 6-10 percent of pregnancies worldwide. The toll of mortality and disability from these conditions is substantial, with a disproportionate burden (90 percent of births and 95 percent of deaths of children with these disabilities) being experienced in developing countries.

Recognizing the growing need to build capacity in lower-resource countries for the prevention of birth defects and preterm birth and care of those affected, the primary goal of this conference is to provide specific practical tools and approaches that developing country participants can use to implement and strengthen services when they return to their respective countries. Participants are expected to include health care providers, experts in data collection and monitoring, researchers, parent-patient organizations and youth volunteers from both the developing and industrialized world.

CALL FOR ABSTRACTS
A Call for Abstracts will be issued in July 2008 and early submission is encouraged. A proportion of travel and per diem expenses, to be determined, will be awarded to those whose abstracts are accepted for oral presentation and who require funding.

Dr. I. C. Verma dr_icverma@yahoo.com

Dr. Michael Katz Conference Chairman & Head,

Secretary, Executive Committee

Analysis of Alcoholics’ Brains Suggests Treatment Target

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – An analysis of brain tissue samples from chronic alcoholics reveals changes that occur at the molecular level in alcohol abuse – and suggests a potential treatment target, according to researchers from Wake Forest University School of Medicine. Reporting in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, the scientists said that a protein known as beta-catenin that is involved in cell signaling and development is found at higher levels in the brains of chronic alcoholics compared to people of the same age with no history of alcoholism.

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Velkommen til konferanse!

Det er hyggelig å nok en gang kunne ønske velkommen til konferansen ”Barnet og Rusen”.
Tematikken barn/familie/rus engasjerer. Det handler om små og litt større barn som er sårbare i forhold til sin utvikling når oppvekstvilkårene er vanskelige fordi mor eller far har et rusproblem, det handler om å se, gripe inn og sette inn gode tiltak- så barnet og familien opplever at det er hjelp og få. Det handler også om graviditet, småbarnstid og rusproblematikk.
For oss på Borgestadklinikken som har dette som et av våre kjerneområder er det gledelig å se at det jobbes så bredt i Norden, noe vi ser gjenspeilet i dette konferanseprogrammet.
Her er tiltak og prosjekt i Danmark, Sverige, Finland, Grønland og Norge presentert. Det jobbes med å legge til rette for faglig styrking på dette feltet gjennom nasjonale satsinger og prosjekt på myndighetsnivå og det jobbes godt og systematisk i enkelt prosjekt i små og store kommuner og lokalsamfunn.
Med håp om at konferansen skal være til inspirasjon og gi mer kunnskap, ønsker vi velkommen til Sandefjord 24.-26. september!

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Borgestadklinikken >>>

Nicotinamide Protects against Ethanol-Induced Apoptotic Neurodegeneration in the Developing Mouse Brain

Exposure to alcohol during brain development may cause a neurological syndrome called fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). Ethanol induces apoptotic neuronal death at specific developmental stages, particularly during the brain-growth spurt, which occurs from the beginning of third trimester of gestation and continues for several years after birth in humans, whilst occuring in the first two postnatal weeks in mice. Administration of a single dose of ethanol in 7-d postnatal (P7) mice triggers activation of caspase-3 and widespread apoptotic neuronal death in the forebrain, providing a possible explanation for the microencephaly observed in human FAS. The present study was aimed at determining whether nicotinamide may prevent ethanol-induced neurodegeneration.

Our findings indicate that nicotinamide can prevent some of the deleterious effects of ethanol on the developing mouse brain when given shortly after ethanol exposure. These results suggest that nicotinamide, which has been used in humans for the treatment of diabetes and bullous pemphigoid, may hold promise as a preventive therapy of FAS.

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Pot Plus Alcohol Kills Young Rats' Brain Cells

Researchers from Humboldt University, Berlin, administered THC, a synthetic form of THC, ethanol, an anticonvulsant called MK-801, and phenobarbital to rats between one and 14 days old. A previous study by the same team found that ethanol and drugs such as sedatives, anesthetics and anticonvulsants caused extensive nerve cell death in the brains of young rodents. The new study was conducted to determine if cannabinoids caused similar harm.

The researchers found that THC and synthetic THC did not cause nerve cell death when administered alone but did cause cell death when given with mildly intoxicating amounts of ethanol. The combined effect increased according to the dose of THC and was strongest when the rats were seven days old.

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EU says alcohol industry must not target youth

BRUSSELS: The European Union's health chief urged the alcohol industry on Wednesday to avoid targeting children and young people in their marketing campaigns to reduce the numbers of alcohol-related deaths.

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Drinking while pregnant risks autism in babies

Raja Mukherjee, consultant psychiatrist at Surrey Borders Partnership NHS trust, has spent the past 18 months examining children who have been damaged by their mother’s drinking during pregnancy and found that a high proportion of them have autism. The research has been presented at scientific meetings.

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Computational selection and prioritization of candidate genes for Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

This analysis highlighted a list of strong candidate genes from the TGF-β, MAPK and
Hedgehog signalling pathways, which are all integral to fetal development and potential targets for
alcohol's teratogenic effect. We conclude that this novel bioinformatics approach effectively
prioritizes credible candidate genes for further experimental analysis.

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International survey of diagnostic services for children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders

Diagnostic services are concentrated in North America. Most responding clinics are
using a multidisciplinary approach with neurobehavioural assessment as
recommended in published guidelines. Agreement on diagnostic criteria would
enable comparison of clinical and research data, and enhance FASD research
particularly for intervention trials. The effects on the fetus of alcohol exposure in pregnancy have been well described but barriers to diagnosis remain.

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Men's fertility is under attack and scientists fear for future generations, writes Steve Dow.

The discovery has been made in the new science known as "epigenetics", which strongly suggests chemical damage is causing abnormal sperm and male infertility via a pregnant woman's exposure to contaminants, passing infertility not only to her son but successive sons - overturning old assumptions about biology and DNA.

Until recently, it had been assumed a gene had to be mutated for a disease to be inherited. But studies on pregnant rats exposed to pesticides show male offspring can inherit reproductive disorders, and pass them on to their children and grandchildren, through an abnormality that affects the activity of genes but leaves the sequence of the DNA code unchanged.

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The Medicated Child

In recent years, there's been a dramatic increase in the number of children being diagnosed with serious psychiatric disorders and prescribed medications that are just beginning to be tested in children. The drugs can cause serious side effects, and virtually nothing is known about their long-term impact. "It's really to some extent an experiment, trying medications in these children of this age," child psychiatrist Dr. Patrick Bacon tells FRONTLINE. "It's a gamble. And I tell parents there's no way to know what's going to work."

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1st Central and Eastern European Summit on Preconception Health and Prevention of Birth Defects, Budapest, Hungary, August 27-30, 2008

We are pleased to announce the 1st Central and Eastern European Summit on Preconception Health and Prevention of Birth Defects in Budapest, Hungary on August 27-30, 2008, hosted by the Research and Prevention for Families Foundation and the Hungarian Congenital Abnormality Registry.

Conference Goal
To provide a platform for review, analysis and discussion of the promotion of women’s health before, during and beyond pregnancy, and the role of preconception health and health care in the prevention of birth defects in the Central and Eastern European region.

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Iceberg is a quarterly educational newsletter published by FASIS (Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Information Service), a federally recognized 501(c)3 nonprofit, community organization, since 1991. Iceberg is funded in part by a grant from the Washington State Division of Alcohol & Substance Abuse.

Iceberg nr 1, April 2008 >>>

Framework for alcohol policy in the WHO European Region

"All children and adolescents have the right to grow up in an
environment protected from the negative consequences
of alcohol consumption and, to the extent possible, from
the promotion of alcoholic beverages."

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Ny svensk rapport: Alkohol under graviditeten ledde till lägre utbildning och inkomst för barnen

Flera studier visar att det finns ett tydligt samband mellan en hög konsumtion av alkohol under graviditeten och spädbarns hälsa, beteende och inlärningsförmåga. Kunskapen om de långsiktiga konsekvenserna är dock bristfällig. Resultaten i rapporten tyder på att investeringar i barns hälsa redan i fosterstadiet har betydande effekter för utbildning och inkomster senare i livet.

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Hör en intervju med forskaren Peter Nilsson >>>

Ytterligare intervjuer, med barnläkare Magnus Landgren och studerande Karl Wittgard) ligger på FAS-föreningens hemsida. >>>

Seminar om FAS/FAE barn

Barn med skader av alkoholbruk i svangerskapet og behovene barna har for hjelp og tilrettelagte tiltak i hjem og skole er i fokus når vi inviterer til seminar 28 april i Sandefjord. Fosterforeldre/Adoptivforeldre og fagmiljø i fosterhjemsentraler / barnevern og skoler er blant de vi henvender oss til


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New Way To Screen Infants For Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Suggested

Measuring the levels of FAEE in an infant's first bowel movement could be a useful method for identifying children at risk for FAS, which may make early intervention possible.
The study is reported in "Fatty Acid Ethyl Esters in Meconium are Associated with Poorer Neurodevelopmental Outcomes to Two Years of Age"

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Etiologic Classification of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Early reports have described symptoms similar to attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder that followed brain trauma or viral encephalitis, and recent MRI studies have demonstrated brain volumetric changes that may be involved in the pathophysiology of the syndrome. The American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic Statistical Manual, introduced in 1968, emphasizes symptomatic criteria in diagnosis. Here, an overview of environmental factors in the etiology of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder is presented to encourage more emphasis and research on organic causal factors, preventive intervention, and specific therapies.

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Tools for Success Curriculum: Working With Youth With Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) in the Juvenile Justice System

Welcome to the Tools for Success Curriculum: Working With Youth With Fetal Alcohol
Spectrum Disorders (FASD) in the Juvenile Justice System (also called Tools for Success). This
curriculum was developed as a joint project of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration (SAMHSA) Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) Center for Excellence and
the Minnesota Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (MOFAS). It is designed to help
professionals in the juvenile justice system recognize and address FASD.


U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
Center for Substance Abuse Prevention


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Differences in executive functioning in children with heavy prenatal alcohol exposure or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder

These results, which indicate that, although executive function deficits occurred in both clinical groups, the degree and pattern of deficit differed between the ALC (alcohol exposed group) and ADHD groups, may improve differential diagnosis. (JINS, 2008, 14, 119–129.)

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Alcohol Exposure Alters Cell Cycle and Apoptotic Events During Early Neurulation

Fetal alcohol exposure causes growth deficits, microencephaly, and neurological abnormalities. Although the effects of alcohol on developmental delay and growth-related deficits have been hypothesized, little is understood about how alcohol alters, in particular, the cyclin pathway within the cell cycle, which is critical to proliferation and apoptotic control. In this study, we examined cell cycle proteins pertinent to the G1–S phase transition and apoptosis, to determine if cell cycle misregulation can be attributed to apoptotic induction and growth defects.


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Third National Biennial Conference on Adolescents and Adults with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder

This conference will highlight what has been shown through this "Wisdom of Practice" to be most effective in the diagnosis and treatment of mental health issues in individuals with FASD, and treatment and support for their families and service providers. This conference will also focus on enhancing creative approaches to support, treatment and program planning with the goal of effective policy development and implementation.

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Fetal Alcohol Exposure, Iron-Deficiency Anemia, and Infant Growth

The association of maternal binge drinking with an increased incidence of iron-deficiency anemia may reflect disruption of accumulation of fetal iron stores or postnatal deficiencies in iron uptake, absorption, or intake. Moreover, iron deficiency seems to exacerbate the prenatal alcohol effects on growth.

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Evaluation of Psychopathological Conditions in Children With Heavy Prenatal Alcohol Exposure

These results suggest that fetal alcohol exposure should be considered a possible factor in the pathogenesis of childhood psychiatric disorders. These data provide clinically relevant information about the mental health problems that children with fetal alcohol exposure are likely to face.

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Identical Twins Not As Identical As Believed

Contrary to our previous beliefs, identical twins are not genetically identical. This surprising finding may be of great significance for research on hereditary diseases and for the development of new diagnostic methods.

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Exploring the Utility of Narrative Analysis in Diagnostic Decision Making: Picture-Bound Reference, Elaboration, and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders

Children with prenatal alcohol exposure exhibit a wide range of abilities across all body systems. When specific growth, facial, and central nervous system impairments are present within a well-specified range, a diagnosis fromwithin the continuum of FASD can be rendered. Because the development and use of language have been reported to be affected by high levels of prenatal alcohol exposure, measurement of language ability has been an important feature of interdisciplinary assessment of these individuals. The preponderance of evidence regarding language behavior in children with an FASD has been gathered using standardized, norm-referenced tests. The goal of these studies has been to establish how well children with an FASD comprehend and/or produce language structures in standardized contexts.

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Effects of Pregnancy and Nutritional Status on Alcohol Metabolism

...it is evident that factors that increase metabolism and clearance of alcohol during pregnancy can significantly protect the fetus from developing FASD.

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Oväntat hög förekomst av alkoholskador

Hur stor andel av barnen i västvärlden är skadade av maternellt bruk av beroendeframkallande medel? Denna fråga kan ha fått ett omskakande svar i en aktuell tvärsnittsstudie av unga skolbarn i Lazioområdet i mellersta Italien [1]. I denna studie fann May och medarbetare en förekomst på 3,5 procent av barn med utvecklingsskador som kunde relateras till mödrarnas alkoholintag under graviditeten.

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Fetal ethanol exposure during pregnancy – how big is the problem and how

In this issue of Acta Paediatrica, Taisto Sarkola and collaborators
describe and discuss risk markers of child maltreatment
in connection with parental alcohol/substance abuse
in Finland. They identify an array of factors associated with
increased risk of out-of-home custody care of the child. One
inescapable impression of their study is that the severity of
the parental addiction, together with the accompanying social
consequences of the addiction, distinctly determines the
risk for out-of-home care of the child.

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Impaired Eyeblink Conditioning in Children With Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

This is the first prospective study to demonstrate impaired EBC in children diagnosed with FAS. Successful EBC in a microcephalic group supports the inference that the EBC deficit is specific to prenatal alcohol exposure and a potential biomarker for diagnosis of exposed children lacking the distinctive FAS dysmorphology. Delay EBC has a high sensitivity for identifying individuals with a diagnosis of probable FAS.

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Low antioxidant level may damage fetal neurons

Fetal neurons that have low levels of a vital antioxidant, glutathione, are the first to die when exposed to alcohol in cell culture and possibly in the living brain, according to new research from the laboratory of George Henderson, Ph.D., professor of medicine and pharmacology at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.

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Hearing in children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD)

The prevalence of mild sensorineural hearing loss in children diagnosed with FASD (16dB hearing-level or greater) was not higher than expected in this age group. However, because children with FASD are academically and behaviorally challenged, early detection of hearing loss and early intervention is warranted.

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Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Research - Adoption

The overall goal of the IAC research program is to identify risk factors that predict medical and developmental problems in international adoptees and thus develop strategies for intervention and education that maximizes each child's potential. Recently, investigators at the University of Minnesota conducted a NIH-funded study of 1,834 Minnesota families who adopted 2291 children from abroad during 1990-98 (International Adoption Project-IAP). This 556-item survey confirmed that alcohol/drug exposure is a common risk factor in international adoptees in Minnesota.

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Long-term effects of prenatal alcohol exposure on the size of the whisker representation in juvenile and adult rat barrel cortex

The major findings in the present study are (i) PAE significantly reduced the size of the total barrel field in Alc juvenile rats (13%) and adult rats (9%) compared to CF controls, (ii) PAE significantly reduced the total averaged sizes of individual PMBSF barrels in juvenile (14%) and adult (13%) rats, (iii) PAE did not significantly alter the septal area between barrels or the barrel pattern, (iv) PAE significantly reduced body weight of juvenile rats but only in comparison to PF controls (18%), (v) PAE significantly reduced whole brain (8%) and forebrain (7%) weights of juvenile rats but not adult rats, (vi) no differences were observed in forebrain/PMBSF body ratios nor was forebrain weight correlated with PMBSF area, and (vii) PAE resulted in a greater reduction in anterior barrels compared to posterior barrels. These results suggest that the effects of PAE previously reported in neonate PMBSF areas persist into adulthood.

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Prenatal ethanol exposure disrupts the histological stages of fetal bone development

Prenatal ethanol exposure decreased the length of the resting zone, but increased the length of the hypertrophic zone. Enlargement of the hypertrophic zone is consistent with an effect of ethanol on the later stages of bone development; however, ethanol's effect on the resting zone indicates that earlier stages of bone development may also be disrupted. The functional significance of these morphological changes to long-term bone health remains to be determined.

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Impaired Placentation in Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

These abnormalities were associated with significantly reduced levels of AAH expression in trophoblastic cells, particularly within the mesometrial triangle (deep placental bed) as demonstrated by real time quantitative RT-PCR, Western blot analysis, ELISA, and immunohistochemical staining. Ethanol-impaired placentation is associated with inhibition of AAH expression in trophoblasts. This effect of chronic gestational exposure to ethanol may contribute to IUGR in FAS.

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Fetal alcohol exposure impairs Hedgehog cholesterol modification and signaling

Exposure of zebrafish embryos to low levels of alcohol during gastrulation blocks covalent modification of Sonic hedgehog by cholesterol. This leads to impaired Hh signal transduction and results in a dose-dependent spectrum of permanent developmental defects that closely resemble FASD. Furthermore, supplementing alcohol-exposed embryos with cholesterol rescues the loss of Shh signal transduction, and prevents embryos from developing FASD-like morphologic defects.

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Deficits in eye movement control in children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders

Compared with controls, FASD children had elongated reaction times, excessive direction errors, and no express saccades. Metric analysis of correct prosaccades revealed a trend toward increased saccadic duration and decreased saccadic velocity in FASD subjects. CONCLUSION: These results reflect deficits in executive function and motor control, and are consistent with dysfunction of the frontal lobes, possibly due to disrupted inhibitory mechanisms. Therefore, eye movement tasks may be powerful and easy tools for assessing executive function deficits in FASD.

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New science on fetal alcohol exposure

Dr. Eugene Hoyme spent years studying Fetal Alcohol Syndrome at Stanford University. He's now head of pediatrics at Sanford Health in Sioux Falls, S.D. He's taking his research to South Africa. (MPR Photo/Cara Hetland)


Dr. Eugene Hoyme, chairman of pediatrics at Sanford Health, is known around the world for developing diagnostic criteria for this disorder. Hoyme says many countries deny alcohol consumption during pregnancy is a problem.
Hoyme uses Italy as an example, where drinking wine has been part of the culture for 2,000 years. He says many doctors refuse to even discuss the effects of that behavior.
"We did a study and the prevalence is 2 percent in Italy, and 1 percent in the United States. The Italians still have a hard time believing that's really true, and it's just because [wine] is like mother's milk to them," says Hoyme. "Part of it is, as a society we don't accept alcohol is a problem and we don't do a good job educating physicians about it."

December 3, 2007

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Ghana: Pregnant women warned to stay off alcohol

The Ghana Organisation on Foetal Alcohol Syndrome (GOFAS) has said that the consumption of alcohol in the country is on the rise but Ghanaians are ignoring its devastating effects on consumers.The Association said the consumption of alcohol is largely to blame for the high rise in mental and physical disability cases in the country, which people continue to attribute to curse from their families.

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Pre-natal alcohol exposure shapes sensory preference, upping odds of later alcohol use and abuse

2 studies help explain why teens exposed to fetal alcohol are at high risk for heavy drinking and perpetuating a family cycle of alcohol addiction
WASHINGTON – Young people whose mothers drank when pregnant may be more likely to abuse alcohol because, in the womb, their developing senses came to prefer its taste and smell. Researchers with the State University of New York Developmental Ethanol Research Center have found that because the developing nervous system adapts to whatever mothers eat and drink, young rats exposed to alcohol (ethanol) in the womb drank significantly more alcohol than non-exposed rats.

December 2007

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The World's Hardest-Drinking Countries

Luxembourg:
Pure annual alcohol consumption: 15.5 liters per capita.
Europe: Home of much natural beauty, old traditions and booze. Lots and lots of booze. Yes, all but one of the World's 15 Heaviest-Drinking Countries are in Europe, a continent where cultural traditions--and tax policies on alcohol--die hard.
Our top 15 listing comes from a 2006 survey by the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development, which tracks per capita alcohol consumption around the globe. Rankings are based on the number of liters of pure alcohol consumed per person per year, from beer, wine and spirits combined (the three have progressively higher percentages of alcohol content).

November 2007

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Three-Dimensional Medical Imaging Could Improve Doctors' Ability to Diagnose Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

16 November 2007—Digital facial models created from three-dimensional scans could give doctors a new diagnostic tool for identifying children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, a broad range of effects resulting from alcohol exposure in the womb. Although such children often have symptoms common to other developmental disorders, they require different interventions, and better diagnostics could help more kids get the right treatment.

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Antidepressants, Exercise, Age, Even Food Intake, Affect Generation Of New Brain Cells

ScienceDaily (Nov. 9, 2007) — Recent research shows that the production of new brain cells may be crucial for antidepressants to be effective and that the medication's effectiveness is strongly influenced by age. What's more, meal frequency, type of food, and physical exercise affect the brain's ability to manufacture these new cells. For the first time in nonhuman primate models, scientists have documented the cause-and-effect relationship between antidepressant drugs and neurogenesis. The researchers found that the antidepressant drug fluoxetine improved the behavior of macaque monkeys with depression-like symptoms.
They also discovered that administering the drugs to normally behaving monkeys did not influence their behavior but did alter their brains by boosting neurogenesis in the hippocampus, an area involved in memory and learning.

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Maternal Alcohol Drinking During Pregnancy Associated With Risk For Childhood Conduct Problems

ScienceDaily (Nov. 6, 2007) — Maternal alcohol drinking during pregnancy appears to be associated with conduct problems in children, independently of other risk factors, according to a report in the November issue of Archives of General Psychiatry.
Previous research has linked maternal drinking during pregnancy to several problems in offspring, including conduct problems, criminal behavior, attention and impulsivity problems and alcohol disorders, according to background information in the article. However, new questions have been raised about the strength of the evidence, as some researchers have suggested that certain family processes or genetic risk factors could be associated with both maternal drinking and childhood problems.

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WHO publications

JUST PUBLISHED, January 2008


65 Result(s) list of WHO publications published in the last 6 months.

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Impulsivity May Especially Vex Alcoholics With Antisocial And Borderline Personality Disorders

ScienceDaily (Oct. 25, 2007) — Impulsivity is a problem common to many different personality and psychiatric disorders, including alcoholism. A new study that looked at impulsivity among alcoholic subpopulations has found that, one, the inability to delay gratification may be a vulnerability marker for alcoholism, and two, certain inhibitory-control issues may be specific to antisocial and borderline personality disorders.

"Around 50 percent of alcoholic patients have psychiatric disorders that include pathological impulsivity," said Gabriel Rubio, associate professor at Complutense University of Madrid, Spain. Yet few studies have explored behavioral measures of impulsivity within different alcoholic subpopulations, which could have important treatment and relapse implications.

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WASHINGTON REPORT, October 2007

In this issue:
Federal Developments TTB Proposes Nutrition Labels for Alcoholic Beverages
Federal Alcohol Tax Update
STOP Act Appropriations Fall Short
Advocacy News Campaign for a Family-Friendly Nationals Stadium
Global Strategy Efforts at the WHA
Mark Your Calendars Alcohol Policy 14 Conference

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More Women in England Dying from Alcohol

Alcohol-related deaths among women in England have nearly doubled in the past 15 years as drinking rates also have risen, according to a new government report.
Reuters reported Oct. 22 that the report, Health Profile of England 2007, found that the U.K. had one of the lowest female alcohol death rates in Europe during the 1970s, but now about 14 of 100,000 women ages 35-54 die from alcohol-related problems.

October 23, 2007

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Australia May Cut Drinking Recommendations

The agency's new draft guidelines on alcohol consumption say that drinkers should down no more than two servings of wine or medium-strength beer daily, about two-thirds lower than the previous recommendations.

October 17, 2007

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KORRIDOREN OCH ALKOHOLEN – En studie av korridorboendets inverkan på alkoholkonsumtionen

Rickard Sjöstedt & Patrik Holmqvist
E-mail: rickardsjostedt@hotmail.com, patrikholmvisst@hotmail.com
VT 2001 Uppsats 344, 41-60p
Lunds Universitet, Sociologiska Institutionen

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10% of inmates victims of fetal alcohol

A study of 91 inmates at Stony Mountain penitentiary found 10 per cent have some form of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, 10 times the incidence in the general population. University of Manitoba faculty of medicine researcher Dr. Ab Chudley is the first to study the incidence of FASD in an adult prison population.
"There are numbers floating around, but no one has done the research among adult offenders," said Patricia MacPherson, research manager with the Correctional Service of Canada's addictions research centre. She helped conduct the 18-month study among offenders under age 30. "This is the first of its kind anywhere worldwide."

Mar 17 2007

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60% of pregnant women drink alcohol - report

More than 60 per cent of women continue to drink alcohol while pregnant, according to a new survey.
The survey is the largest study of its kind ever conducted in Ireland, and the findings were unveiled by Minister for Health Mary Harney in the Coombe Women's Hospital this morning.
It examines trends in the consumption of alcohol, tobacco and drugs by over 120,000 pregnant women during the past two decades.
Irish and UK-born mothers were more likely to report themselves as consuming more than six units of alcohol a week compared with EU and non-EU nationals. A total of 7.1 per cent of those surveyed admitted to drinking more than six units of alcohol per week.
The highest percentage category reporting drinking over 10 units per week was the 18-24 year-olds, while more than two-thirds of all pregnant under-18 year olds reported drinking alcohol during pregnancy.

March, 2007

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Many Russian Women Drink During Pregnancy, Study Finds

Russian women are aware that drinking can damage developing fetuses — but nearly two-thirds continue to drink after they become pregnant, according to new research. Nearly 900 Russian women were interviewed at job centers, physicians’ offices, schools, hospitals and clinics for the study, which appears in the February issue of the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.

January 25, 2007

By Maia Szalavitz, Contributing Writer Health Behavior News Service

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Chinese Drink Nearly $60 Billion Worth of Alcohol

Chinese drinkers consume 20 percent of the world's alcohol products, drinking $59.5 billion worth of alcoholic beverages in 2006, Bloomberg reported Aug. 9.
Beer is the most popular drink in China, but liquor -- while only accounting for 9.8 percent of alcohol consumed -- represents 43 percent of the sales value. Many Chinese still drink traditional "baijiu" liquor, but rising affluence is expected to expand the market for more sophisticated tipples. Currently, foreign brands account for about 10 percent of liquor sales in China.
August 10, 2007

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NIH MERIT award advances fetal alcohol research

Susan Smith, a professor of nutritional sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, has received a prestigious MERIT award from the National Institutes of Health, which provides research funding for up to 10 years. Smith is an expert on fetal alcohol exposure, the leading known cause of mental retardation in the world.
MERIT awards, short for Method to Extend Research in Time, are among the most selective research grants given by the NIH. Less than 5 percent of NIH-funded investigators are selected for the awards, which recognize researchers who have demonstrated superior competence and outstanding productivity in research endeavors of special importance or promise, according to the NIH.
Aug. 17, 2007
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No alcohol in pregnancy adviced //BBC

Pregnant women and those trying for a baby should avoid alcohol completely, according to new government advice.
It replaces existing advice that one to two units such as a couple of glasses of wine per week is acceptable.
The change follows concern from some sectors that there is no safe amount of alcohol that mothers-to-be can drink.
While heavy alcohol consumption during pregnancy is known to be damaging to the unborn child, the effects of more moderate intake are less clear.

Friday, 25 May 2007

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Kuba fällde Sverige i WHO

Publicerat: 24 maj 2007, 00:00
GENÈVE Ett svenskt förslag om en global strategi mot alkohol har slutat med ­fiasko vid WHO:s Världshälso­församling i Genève. Trots stöd från flera länder misslyckades Sverige igår att driva igenom en resolution efter motstånd från alko­holproducerande länder, främst Kuba.

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