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etal alcohol syndrome or
FAS occurs because of
maternal use of alcohol during pregnancy it's currently the leading cause of
intellectual in Europe and can cause characteristic physical abnormalities.
Normally the fetus is connected to the placenta by the umbilical cord so the
fetus gets oxygen and nutrients from the mother, unfortunately, ethanol and
toxic alcohol metabolites like acetaldehyde also pass freely through the
placenta but the fetal liver doesn't have the necessary enzymes to metabolize
them so they build up inside the fetus really fast.
In FAS ethanol interferes with cell division and proliferation
cell growth and differentiation and with the migration of mature cells to their
final location in the developing embryo which affects the development of
various fetal tissues including the brain, alcohol-induced brain damage
includes partial or complete agenesis of the corpus callosum which links the
two hemispheres together, so it either forms incompletely or not at all this
causes intellectual disability and seizures, when the frontal cortex and the
hippocampus are affected this causes poor memory and communication skills as
well as an intellectual disability the cerebellum can also be smaller in size
called Cerebellar hypoplasia leading to trouble with movement and balance.
The most common symptom of FAS is growth retardation, resulting in
low height and weight microcephaly can also occur which results from an overall
decrease in brain growth children with FAS may also have certain facial
characteristics, like small palpebral fissures which is a reduced distance
between the two sides of an eye, smooth or flat philtrum and a thin vermilion
border which is the border of the lip, other features include limb dislocation
and heart defects now there's no specific blood test or brain scan to detect.
FAS and the disorder is suspected based on characteristic symptoms
and maternal history of alcohol consumption during pregnancy, unfortunately in
individuals with FAS brain damage due to ethanol toxicity is permanent. So
treatment focuses on the management of the symptoms of the disease through
personalized educational programs for children with trouble learning,
behavioral interventions for children, with difficulties in communication, and
anti-seizure medications.
All right as a quick recap, fetal alcohol syndrome is when the
fetus is affected by maternal alcohol consumption during pregnancy it's
characterized by the presence of physical abnormalities like growth
retardation, intellectual disability, and cranial facial defects, additional
findings include limb dislocation and heart defects. Treatment is focused on
the management of symptoms.
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