from Radiological Society of North America
Fetal alcohol syndrome—the result of alcohol exposure during pregnancy—may be manifest in conditions ranging from physical features, learning and behavioral disabilities or speech and learning delays. Yet, it is estimated that nearly ten percent of pregnant women consume alcohol. The first MRI-based study of pre-natal alcohol exposure reveals significant changes in brain structure of exposed fetuses compared to those not exposed. The study, presented to the Radiological Society of North America, recruited five hundred pregnant women for a fetal MRI. Lead author, Dr. Gregor Kasprian, of the Medical University of Vienna in Austria, says it appears alcohol exposure during pregnancy puts the fetal brain on a different path of development.