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Fetal Cerebral Circulation as Target of Maternal Alcohol Consumption
Author(s) -
Bukiya An.,
Dopico Alex M.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
alcoholism: clinical and experimental research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.267
H-Index - 153
eISSN - 1530-0277
pISSN - 0145-6008
DOI - 10.1111/acer.13755
Subject(s) - fetal alcohol syndrome , fetus , medicine , fetal circulation , pregnancy , etiology , cerebral blood flow , alcohol , alcohol consumption , ethanol , physiology , placenta , biology , biochemistry , genetics
Alcohol (ethanol [EtOH]) is one of the most widely used psychoactive substances worldwide. Alcohol consumption during pregnancy may result in a wide range of morphological and neurodevelopmental abnormalities termed fetal alcohol spectrum disorders ( FASD ), with the most severe cases diagnosed as fetal alcohol syndrome ( FAS ). FAS and FASD are not readily curable and currently represent the leading preventable causes of birth defect and neurodevelopmental delay in the United States. The etiology of FAS / FASD remains poorly understood. This review focuses on the effects of prenatal alcohol exposure ( PAE ) on fetal cerebrovascular function. A brief introduction to the epidemiology of alcohol consumption and the developmental characteristics of fetal cerebral circulation is followed by several sections that discuss current evidence documenting alcohol‐driven alterations of fetal cerebral blood flow, artery function, and microvessel networks. The material offers mechanistic insights at the vascular level itself into the pathophysiology of PAE .