Fetal Cerebral Circulation As Target of Maternal Alcohol Consumption

Overview

Journal Alcohol Clin Exp Res

Specialty Psychiatry

Date 2018 Apr 20

PMID 29672868

Citations 13

Authors

Anna N Bukiya

Alex M Dopico

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Alcohol (ethanol [EtOH]) is one of the most widely used psychoactive substances worldwide. Alcohol consumption during pregnancy may result in a wide range of morphological and neurodevelopmental abnormalities termed fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD), with the most severe cases diagnosed as fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). FAS and FASD are not readily curable and currently represent the leading preventable causes of birth defect and neurodevelopmental delay in the United States. The etiology of FAS/FASD remains poorly understood. This review focuses on the effects of prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) on fetal cerebrovascular function. A brief introduction to the epidemiology of alcohol consumption and the developmental characteristics of fetal cerebral circulation is followed by several sections that discuss current evidence documenting alcohol-driven alterations of fetal cerebral blood flow, artery function, and microvessel networks. The material offers mechanistic insights at the vascular level itself into the pathophysiology of PAE.

Citing Articles

Motivations and expectations of pregnant women using psychoactive substances during prenatal care: phenomenological study.

Oliveira Silveira J, Marchiori M, da Silveira A, Porto da Silva F, Tisott Z, Marques Moncalves K Invest Educ Enferm. 2024; 42(2).

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Reduced fetal cerebral blood flow predicts perinatal mortality in a mouse model of prenatal alcohol and cannabinoid exposure.

Rouzer S, Sreeram A, Miranda R BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2024; 24(1):263.

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Prenatal exposure to alcohol: mechanisms of cerebral vascular damage and lifelong consequences.

Saha P, Mayhan W Adv Drug Alcohol Res. 2024; 2:10818.

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Alcohol blunts pregnancy-mediated insulin resistance and reduces fetal brain glucose despite elevated fetal gluconeogenesis, and these changes associate with fetal weight outcomes.

Saini N, Mooney S, Smith S FASEB J. 2023; 37(10):e23172.

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Editorial: Substance abuse and early development.

Bukiya A, Ali D Adv Drug Alcohol Res. 2023; 3.

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