Skip to main content
Key Specialties
Cardiology Diabetology Endocrinology Gastroenterology Geriatrics and Gerontology Gynecology and Obstetrics Hematology Infectious Disease Internal Medicine Nephrology Neurology Oncology Pediatrics Respiratory Medicine Rheumatology Surgery
Congress Coverage
2024 ACC Congress 2023 ESMO Congress 2023 EASD Congress 2023 ERS Congress 2023 ESC Congress
Clinical Collections
Advances in Alzheimer’s

At a glance: The STEP trials

A round-up of the STEP phase 3 clinical trials evaluating semaglutide for weight loss in people with overweight or obesity.
ADVANCED SEARCH
Log in
Top
Neuropsychology Review
Published in: Neuropsychology Review 2/2011

01-06-2011 | Review

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders: An Overview

Authors: Edward P. Riley, M. Alejandra Infante, Kenneth R. Warren

Published in: Neuropsychology Review | Issue 2/2011

Login to get access

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.
Literature
Aase, J. M., Jones, K., & Clarren, S. K. (1995). Do we need the term “FAE”? Pediatrics, 95(3), 428–430.PubMed
Abel, E. L., & Sokol, R. J. (1991). A revised conservative estimate of the incidence of FAS and its economic impact. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 15(3), 514–524.CrossRef
Astley, S. J., & Clarren, S. K. (2000). Diagnosing the full spectrum of fetal alcohol-exposed individuals: Introducing the 4-digit diagnostic code. Alcohol and Alcoholism, 35(4), 400–410.PubMedCrossRef
Bertrand, J., Floyd, R. L., & Weber, M. K. (2005). Guidelines for identifying and referring persons with fetal alcohol syndrome. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 54(RR-11), 1–14.
Burd, L., & Hofer, R. (2008). Biomarkers for detection of prenatal alcohol exposure: a critical review of fatty acid ethyl esters in meconium. Birth Defects Research. Part A, Clinical And Molecular Teratology, 82(7), 487–493.PubMedCrossRef
Burd, L., Klug, M., & Martsolf, J. (2004). Increased sibling mortality in children with fetal alcohol syndrome. Addiction Biology, 9(2), 179–186.PubMedCrossRef
Calhoun, F., & Warren, K. (2007). Fetal alcohol syndrome: Historical perspectives. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 31(2), 168–171.PubMedCrossRef
Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (1993). Fetal alcohol syndrome—United States, 1979–1992. Morbidity and Mortality Reports, 42(17), 339–341.
Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (1995). Update: Trends in fetal alcohol syndrome—United States, 1979–1993. Morbidity and Mortality Reports, 44(13), 249–51.
Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (1997). Surveillance for fetal alcohol syndrome using multiple sources—Atlanta, Georgia, 1981–1989. Morbidity and Mortality Reports, 46(47), 1118–20.
Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2002). Fetal alcohol syndrome—Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, and New York, 1995–1997. Morbidity and Mortality Reports, 51(20), 433–435.
Chudley, A. E., Conry, J., Cook, J. L., Loock, C., Rosales, T., & LeBlanc, N. (2005). Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder: Canadian guidelines for diagnosis. Canadian Medical Association Journal, 172(5 Suppl), S1–S21.PubMedCrossRef
Clarren, S. K., & Smith, D. W. (1978). The fetal alcohol syndrome. The New England Journal of Medicine, 298(19), 1063–1067.PubMedCrossRef
Clarren, S. K., Chudley, A. E., Wong, L., Friesen, J., & Brant, R. (2010). Normal distribution of palpebral fissure lengths in Canadian school age children. Canadian Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, 17, e67–e78.PubMed
Datta, S., Turner, D., Singh, R., Ruest, L. B., Pierce, W. M., Jr., & Knudsen, T. B. (2008). Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) in C57BL/6 mice detected through proteomics screening of the amniotic fluid. Birth Defects Research Part A, Clinical and Molecular Teratology, 82(4), 177–186.PubMedCrossRef
Garcia-Algar, O., Kulaga, V., Gareri, J., Koren, G., Vall, O., Zuccaro, P., et al. (2008). Alarming prevalence of fetal alcohol exposure in a Mediterranean city. Therapeutic Drug Monitoring, 30(2), 249–254.PubMedCrossRef
Gareri, J., Lynn, H., Handley, M., Rao, C., & Koren, G. (2008). Prevalence of fetal ethanol exposure in a regional population-based sample by meconium analysis of fatty acid ethyl esters. Therapeutic Drug Monitoring, 30(2), 239–45.PubMedCrossRef
Gifford, A. E., Farkas, K. J., Jackson, L. W., Molteno, C. D., Jacobson, J. L., Jacobson, S. W., et al. (2010). Assessment of benefits of a universal screen for maternal alcohol use during pregnancy. Birth Defects Research. Part A, Clinical and Molecular Teratology, 88(10), 838–846.PubMedCrossRef
Goh, Y. I., Hutson, J. R., Lum, L., Roukema, H., Gareri, J., Lynn, H., et al. (2010). Rates of fetal alcohol exposure among newborns in a high-risk obstetric unit. Alcohol (Fayetteville, N.Y.), 44(7–8), 629–634.
Goodlett, C. R., Horn, K. H., & Zhou, F. C. (2005). Alcohol teratogenesis: mechanisms of damage and strategies for intervention. Experimental Biology And Medicine (Maywood, N.J.), 230(6), 394–406.
Hall, J. G. (2010). New palpebral fissure measurements. American Journal of Medical Genetics Part A, 152A, 1870.PubMedCrossRef
Hall, J. G., Froster-Iskenius, U. G., & Allanson, J. E. (1989). Handbook of Normal Physical Measurements. New York: Oxford University Press.
Harlap, S., & Shiono, P. H. (1980). Alcohol, smoking, and incidence of spontaneous abortions in the first and second trimester. Lancet, 2, 173–176.PubMedCrossRef
Hoyme, H. E., May, P. A., Kalberg, W. O., Kodituwakku, P., Gossage, J. P., Trujillo, P. M., et al. (2005). A practical clinical approach to diagnosis of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders: clarification of the 1996 Institute of Medicine criteria. Pediatrics, 115(1), 39–47.PubMed
Hutson, J., Magri, R., Gareri, J., & Koren, G. (2010). The incidence of prenatal alcohol exposure in Montevideo Uruguay as determined by meconium analysis. Therapeutic Drug Monitoring, 32(3), 311–317.PubMedCrossRef
Jones, K. L., & Smith, D. W. (1973). Recognition of the fetal alcohol syndrome in early infancy. Lancet, 2(7836), 999–1001.CrossRef
Jones, K. L., Smith, D. W., Ulleland, C. N., & Streissguth, A. P. (1973). Pattern of malformation in offspring of chronic alcoholic mothers. Lancet, 1(7815), 1267–1271.PubMedCrossRef
Jones, K. L., Smith, D. W., & Hanson, J. W. (1976). The fetal alcohol syndrome: clinical delineation. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 273, 130–139.PubMedCrossRef
Kline, J., Shrout, P., Stein, Z., Susser, M., & Warburton, D. (1980). Drinking during pregnancy and spontaneous abortion. Lancet, 2(8187), 176–180.PubMedCrossRef
Kulaga, V., Shor, S., & Koren, G. (2010). Correlation between drugs of abuse and alcohol by hair analysis: parents at risk for having children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. Alcohol (Fayetteville, N.Y.), 44(7–8), 615–621.
Lupton, C., Burd, L., & Harwood, R. (2004). Cost of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders. American Journal of Medical Genetics Part C (Seminars in Medical Genetics), 127C(1), 42–50.CrossRef
May, P. A., & Gossage, J. P. (2001). Estimating the prevalence of fetal alcohol syndrome: a summary. Alcohol Research and Health, 25(3), 159–167.PubMed
May, P. A., Fiorentino, D., Gossage, J. P., Kalberg, W. O., Hoyme, H. E., Robinson, L. K., et al. (2006). Epidemiology of FASD in a province in Italy: Prevalence and characteristics of children in a random sample of schools. Alcoholism, Clinical and Experimental Research, 30(9), 1562–1575.PubMedCrossRef
May, P. A., Gossage, J. P., Marais, A., Adnams, C. M., Hoyme, H. E., Jones, K. L., et al. (2007). The epidemiology of fetal alcohol syndrome and partial FAS in a South African community. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 88(2–3), 259–271.PubMedCrossRef
May, P. A., Gossage, J. P., Kalberg, W. O., Robinson, L. K, Buckley, D., Manning, M., et al. (2009). Prevalence and epidemiologic characteristics of FASD from various research methods with an emphasis on recent in-school studies. Developmental Disabilities Research Reviews, 15(3), 176–192.PubMedCrossRef
Olson, H. C., Ohlemiller, M. M., O’Connor, M. J., Brown, C. W., Morris, C. A., & Damus, K., National Task Force on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Fetal Alcohol Effect. (2009). A call to action: Advancing Essential Services and Research on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders—A report of the National Task Force on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Fetal Alcohol Effect, March 2009. www.​cdc.​gov/​ncbddd/​fas.
Petković, G., & Barisić, I. (2010). FAS prevalence in a sample of urban schoolchildren in Croatia. Reproductive Toxicology, 29(2), 237–241.
Sampson, P. D., Streissguth, A. P., Bookstein, F. L., Little, R. E., Clarren, S. K., Dehaene, P., et al. (1997). Incidence of fetal alcohol syndrome and prevalence of alcohol-related neurodevelopmental disorder. Teratology, 56(5), 317–326.PubMedCrossRef
Sokol, R. J., Delaney-Black, V., & Nordstrom, B. (2003). Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association, 290(22), 2996–2999.CrossRef
Spohr, H. L., & Steinhausen, H. C. (2008). Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders and their persisting sequelae in adult life. Deutsches Ärzteblatt International, 105(41), 693–698.PubMed
Stade, B., Ali, A., Bennett, D., Campbell, D., Johnston, M., Lens, C., et al. (2009). The burden of prenatal exposure to alcohol: revised measurement of cost. Canadian Journal of Clinical Pharmacolology, 16(1), e91–e102.
Stratton, K., Howe, C., & Battaglia, F. (1996). Fetal alcohol syndrome: Diagnosis, epidemiology, prevention, and treatment. Washington, DC: National Academy.
Thomas, L. T., Gaitantzis, Y. A., & Frias, J. L. (1987). Palpebral fissure length from 29 weeks to 14 years. Journal of Pediatrics, 111(2), 267–268.PubMedCrossRef
Metadata
Title
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders: An Overview
Authors
Edward P. Riley
M. Alejandra Infante
Kenneth R. Warren
Publication date
01-06-2011
Publisher
Springer US
Published in
Neuropsychology Review / Issue 2/2011
Print ISSN: 1040-7308
Electronic ISSN: 1573-6660
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11065-011-9166-x

Other articles of this Issue 2/2011

Neuropsychology Review 2/2011 Go to the issue

Review

From Research to Practice: An Integrative Framework for the Development of Interventions for Children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders

Review

Biobehavioral Markers of Adverse Effect in Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders

Review

Imaging the Impact of Prenatal Alcohol Exposure on the Structure of the Developing Human Brain

Erratum

Erratum to: Rehabilitation Treatments for Adults with Behavioral and Psychosocial Disorders Following Acquired Brain Injury: A Systematic Review

Review

Magnetic Resonance-Based Imaging in Animal Models of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder

Review

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders: Neuropsychological and Behavioral Features