Epigenetic changes are chemical modifications (methylation or acetylation) to DNA and surrounding histones that influence gene expression and often occur in response to environmental exposures118,119. Normal development depends on numerous epigenetic changes in embryonic stem cells that facilitate their transition to fully differentiated and functional cell lineages such as neurons, muscle and fat cells120. Alcohol can disrupt development by inducing DNA methylation and histone acetylation in gene clusters and altering gene expression121.
Treatment for fetal alcohol spectrum disorders
The pattern of facial defects that occur as a result of ethanol exposure during development primarily affects the midline of the face, altering morphology of the eyes, nose, and lips. Ethanol damage to cranial neural crest cells (CNCC) early in embryonic development is responsible for these minor midline abnormalities. Regulation of the gene sonic hedgehog (shh) during this period of development has been observed to rescue these ethanol-affected CNCC from fated cell death, an association that has not yet been examined as it applies to human cells. Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) is the most severe fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. These are a group of conditions present at birth that can happen when a pregnant person drinks alcohol.
Health Challenges
- Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.)Alcoholics Anonymous® is a fellowship of men and women who share their experience, strength and hope with each other that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from alcoholism.
- In a mouse model of PAE, gut microbial metabolites were detected in maternal plasma, fetal liver and fetal brain151.
- One reason alcohol is dangerous during pregnancy is that it’s passed through your bloodstream to the fetus through the umbilical cord.
- Hypoplastic (underdeveloped) expression of the philtrum also occurs, resulting in the lessened expression or absence of the bilateral raised ridges of skin that connect the nasal septum to the bow of the upper lip.
Early exposure of these cells to ethanol results in a marked decrease in cellular proliferation and survival, primarily through impaired migration and programmed cell death ( apoptosis) of cells fated to form facial features. No one particular treatment is correct drunken baby syndrome for everyone with fetal alcohol syndrome. FAS exists on a spectrum of disorders and the way each person is impacted by the condition can vary greatly.
- These and other effects of FASDs can negatively affect social interactions.
- A reduction in neuritogenesis and neuronal survival was reported in naïve neurons co-cultured with astrocytes prepared from alcohol-exposed rats (Pascual and Guerri, 2007).
- Defects in the glial wedge lead to the agenesis of corpus callosum (Chinn et al., 2015).
How much alcohol causes fetal alcohol syndrome?
A general CNS disorganization is observed, with errors in neuronal migration, neuroglial heterotopias, microcephaly, and abnormalities of the brainstem, cerebellum, basal ganglia, hippocampus and corpus callosum, pituitary gland and optic nerve (Jones et al., 1973). The degree to which these characteristics are present in individuals that do not die during development or early childhood is unclear, but these findings are reflective of the widespread disruption of normal brain development that results from alcohol exposure. Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders describes the range of conditions in children caused when the mothers drank alcohol during pregnancy. Symptoms vary greatly among children and can include all or a mix of physical, behavioral, and learning and thinking problems. Many features seen with fetal alcohol syndrome also may occur in children with other conditions. If fetal alcohol syndrome is suspected, your pediatrician or other healthcare professional will likely refer your child to an expert with special training in fetal alcohol syndrome.
What’s the outlook for children with FASDs?
FAS symptoms include distinctive facial features, lower-than-average height and weight, and problems with brain and nervous system development. There is no single test for fetal alcohol syndrome (a lifelong condition), but early detection and treatment can greatly improve the lives of children with FAS. Heavy prenatal alcohol exposure alters neuronal migration and induces glial heterotopia (Jones et al., 1973). Radial glia are targets of alcohol damage and are critical to proper neuronal migration. Radial glia cells derived from 13-day rat fetuses exhibited reductions in GFAP, but not vimentin expression both in vivo and in culture (Valles et al., 1996).
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome: Facial to Behavioral Effects
2 identifies methods to manage the same vulnerabilities based on understanding the individual and using anticipatory interventions to support development. Box 3 contains some useful resources on FASD for professionals and parents. PAE may cause enduring changes in the gut microbiota150, and there is increasing recognition of the interplay between gut microbes and nervous system development and function. In a mouse model of PAE, gut microbial metabolites were detected in maternal plasma, fetal liver and fetal brain151. Further research is required to determine how effects of PAE on the gut microbiota influence development and later health.
What Are the Types of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders?
Alcohol consumption could harm the developing fetus at any time during pregnancy — especially early on in the development process. Children born with this syndrome experience the symptoms throughout their entire lives. Some symptoms can be managed with treatment by a healthcare provider, but they won’t go away. Fetal alcohol syndrome happens when a person drinks any alcohol during pregnancy, including wine, beer, hard ciders and “hard liquor”.
Lifespan
- Some individuals with FAS may have a philtrum that is smoother than average.
- Collectively, these actions of alcohol result in altered neural circuits and decreased neuronal plasticity.
- Growth and central nervous system problems (for example, low birthweight, behavioral problems) can occur from alcohol use anytime during pregnancy.
- Several of the structural abnormalities observed in FASD and in FASD animal models are consistent with altered glial cell function.
- Individuals who are pregnant or trying to become pregnant should avoid consuming any amount of alcohol.
They reported specific facial features (thin upper lip, smooth philtrum (the vertical groove between the base of the nose and the border of the upper lip) and short palpebral fissures) and coined the term fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS)5. By 1977, the US government had issued a warning about the health risks of alcohol use during pregnancy, which was endorsed by professional organizations in the USA6,7. In 1981, the US Surgeon General issued stronger advice that “women who are pregnant (or considering pregnancy) not drink alcoholic beverages”8 and other countries subsequently issued similar advice. The teratogenic effects of alcohol were subsequently confirmed in animal studies9. More recently the term Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) has been introduced to describe the array of physical, behavioral, and learning impairments deriving from in utero alcohol exposure.