1043-3155 Pediatr Neurol Briefs pedneurbriefs Pediatr Neurol Briefs Pediatric Neurology Briefs Pediatr Neurol Briefs 2166-6482 1043-3155 2166-3155 Pediatric Neurology Briefs Publishers Chicago, IL, USA PNB-9-04 10.15844/pedneurbriefs-9-1-5 Toxic Disorders Neurology Pediatrics Nervous System Diseases Child Development Brain Diseases Neurosurgery Child Infant Alcohol-Related Perinatal Brain Injury in Prem’s http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0173-7931 Millichap J. Gordon MD 1 2 * Division of Neurology, Children's Memorial Hospital, Chicago, IL Departments of Pediatrics and Neurology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL Correspondence: Dr. J. Gordon Millichap, E-mail: jgmillichap@northwestern.edu 01 1995 01 06 2016 9 1 4 5 Copyright: © 1995 The Author(s) 1995 This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Perinatal brain injury in premature infants born to mothers using alcohol in pregnancy. Neonatal Brain Hemorrhage Study Team

The relation between maternal alcohol use and intraventricular hemorrhage in 349 prematures weighing 2000 g or less was examined by the Neonatal Brain Hemorrhage Study Team at the Epidemiology Department, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI; National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, N Carolina; and the Dept of Pediatrics and Clinical Epidemiology, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA.

 Maternal Alcohol Clinical Epidemiology Brain Hemorrhage

The relation between maternal alcohol use and intraventricular hemorrhage in 349 prematures weighing 2000 g or less was examined by the Neonatal Brain Hemorrhage Study Team at the Epidemiology Department, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI; National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, N Carolina; and the Dept of Pediatrics and Clinical Epidemiology, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA. Infants of women reporting “high” alcohol use (7 or more drinks per week and/or 3 or more per occasion) during preganancy were at increased risk of developing brain hemorrhage and white matter damage. [1]

COMMENT. Premature infants of mothers who are high alcohol consumers during pregnancy have an increased risk of brain damage. Mothers’ alcohol use before pregnancy had no observed adverse effect on the infant. However, alcohol taken during breast feeding may cause delay in motor development. (see Progress in Pediatric Neurology I, Chicago, PNB Publ, 1991, pp448-50).

The fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) in adolescence was studied in 44 patients followed for 10-14 years at the Department of Pediatrics, Rittberg Hospital of the German Red Cross, Berlin, Germany, and the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Zurich, Switzerland [2]. Although the pronounced growth retardation and dysmorphism of the early childhood FAS diminishes in the older child, a characteristic syndrome remains. The “juvenile” pattern of FAS showed the following features: microcephaly, growth retardation, cognitive deficits, behavioral problems, and craniofacial dysmorphism consisting of short palpebral fissures, thin upper lip, prominent nasal bridge, maxillary hypoplasia, strabismus, and malaligned teeth.

In a study of 64 families with alcoholism at the Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden, children had retarded development and more behavioral problems than controls until 4 years of age. Boys were more vulnerable than girls. Behavioral disorders were more pronounced when both parents were alcoholic. [3]

 Holzman C Paneth N Little R Pinto-Martin J Perinatal brain injury in premature infants born to mothers using alcohol in pregnancy. Neonatal Brain Hemorrhage Study Team Pediatrics 1995 Jan 95 1 66 73 7770312 Spohr HL Willms J Steinhausen HC The fetal alcohol syndrome in adolescence Acta Paediatr Suppl 1994 Nov 404 19 26 7531038 10.1111/j.1651-2227.1994.tb13379.x Nordberg L Rydelius PA Zetterström R Parental alcoholism and early child development Acta Paediatr Suppl 1994 Nov 404 14 8 7531037 10.1111/j.1651-2227.1994.tb13378.x