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Treating Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

The effects of fetal alcohol exposure may be more profound than researchers hoped. Results of a new study reveal the prenatal damage to peptides in the fetal brain may endure into adulthood despite environmental enrichment provided in a child’s early years.

Neurotrophins — a family of peptides produced in the nervous system — are critical for normal development of the brain. Research has shown prenatal alcohol exposure may be particularly destructive for neurotrophins, with effects lasting into adulthood.

“Neurotrophins also play important roles in learning and memory, and contribute to the repair of the brain following injury or stress,” study author Robert F. Berman, Ph.D., a professor in the department of neurological surgery at the University of California — Davis, was quoted as saying.

Dr. Berman said treatment of other types of brain injury with environmental enrichment therapy could be beneficial. However, new research in rats suggests the effects of prenatal alcohol exposure and environmental rearing conditions on neurotrophin levels are largely independent.

“In this study, we found that being raised in an enriched environment, with ample opportunities for motor and sensory stimulation, and social interactions, unexpectedly resulted in reduced levels of neurotrophins in some areas of the cortex, but not in other areas which are well known to be affected by prenatal alcohol exposure,” Dr. Berman said.

He went on to say additional research is needed to devise better treatment strategies for Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders.
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SOURCE: To be published in the October 2008 edition of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.

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Study: Seattle housing for alcoholics saves money

A program that gives homeless alcoholics a place to live and drink is saving taxpayers more than $4 million a year, according to a study released Tuesday. The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, endorses a “housing first” approach that calls for putting homeless people in permanent homes with supportive services….

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3 Most Common Questions about Drug Treatment Centers

When you or a loved one needs drug treatment tons of questions go through your head. What will the drug treatment be like? Will it work for me or my loved one? How long with drug treatment take? Are drug treatment centers safe? The list of questions you likely have can go on and on….

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How much is too much alcohol?

One night of binge drinking, while seemingly harmless, may end up killing you. Gastroenterologist Benny Ang said that most men can stomach two units of alcohol – two beers, two shots of whisky or two glasses of wine – a day. For most women, their limit is one unit of alcohol a day. Exceed that,and….

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Women who binge drink more likely to engage in unsafe sex

A U.S. study says women who have more than five alcoholic drinks at one sitting are at increased risk of having unsafe sex and contracting sexually transmitted diseases. Researchers at John Hopkins University medical school in Baltimore looked at the correlation between binge drinking and risky sexual behaviours in women. They interviewed patients at an….

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Diagnosis of ADHD

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is termed as ADHD. This disorder is commonly seen in small children. The children suffering from ADHD disorder are very impulsive, hyperactive and find it difficult to concentrate. Since, this kind of behavior is common in small children; it becomes difficult to differentiate between normal behavior and ADHD disorder. Therefore, it….

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