Despite the known damaging effects of prenatal alcohol exposure, women continue to drink during pregnancy, creating a need for effective interventions and treatments for fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD). Experimental models can be useful in identifying potential treatments, and this article describes the spectrum of experimental therapeutics that currently are being investigated, includi...

Citation: Mason S and Zhou FC (2015) Editorial: Genetics and epigenetics of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders. Children born to mothers who drink during pregnancy are at risk for growth retardation, memory, learning, and cognitive deficits under a lifelong disability known as Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD), which occurs at a high rate in the US (∼1/100 live births) and worldwide. There ...

STUDY OBJECTIVES Sleep problems in children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) are reportedly common but not well characterized. Objectives were to: (1) assess sleep concerns in children with FASD using a caregiver-report survey, the Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ); (2) compare CSHQ results with those of previously reported community sample; and (3) describe pilot polysom...

Alcoholism is a debilitating disorder that can take a significant toll on health and professional and personal relationships. Excessive alcohol consumption can have a serious impact on both drinkers and developing fetuses, leading to long-term learning impairments. Decades of research in laboratory animals and humans have demonstrated the value of eyeblink classical conditioning (EBC) as a well...

[This corrects the article on p. 123 in vol. 2, PMID: 25426477.].

BACKGROUND Epidemiological measures of the prevalence of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) vary greatly in the literature. Irrespective of the methodology, the criteria to define a 'case' are set by the researchers. Hence, estimates of the prevalence of FASD primarily depend on the diagnostic criteria currently available. The problem lies therein - the aforementioned criteria are ill-defi...

Prenatal alcohol exposure can cause a number of physical, behavioral, cognitive, and neural impairments, collectively known as fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD). This article examines basic research that has been or could be translated into practical applications for the diagnosis or treatment of FASD. Diagnosing FASD continues to be a challenge, but advances are being made at both basic ...

Epigenetic changes-stable but potentially reversible alterations in a cell's genetic information that result in changes in gene expression but do not involve changes in the underlying DNA sequence-may mediate some of the detrimental effects of prenatal alcohol exposure and contribute to the deficits and abnormalities associated with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders. These epigenetic processes a...

Information about "family matters" is vital to developing targeted interventions, reducing placement disruption, and enhancing outcome in fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD). The quality of the caregiving environment and family function are associated with long-term outcome in natural history study of individuals with FASD. This article integrates multiple information sources to better unde...

Fetal alcohol-spectrum disorders (FASDs) are a collection of physical and neurobehavioral disabilities caused by prenatal exposure to alcohol. To prevent or mitigate the costly effects of FASD, we must identify mothers at risk for having a child with FASD, so that we may reach them with interventions. Identifying mothers at risk is beneficial at all time points, whether prior to pregnancy, duri...