Fetal alcohol effect or fetal alcohol syndrome is a condition that affects newborn children and is a result of alcohol exposure while in the womb. According to the Mayo Clinic, fetal alcohol syndrome can cause mental retardation and learning disorders, physical deformities, vision problems and behavioral issues. Numerous studies have pointed to various vitamins for the treatment of fetal alcohol syndrome and the complications it causes. The best way to prevent fetal alcohol syndrome is to not drink alcohol while pregnant.
Vitamin A
New research by Abraham Fainsod, a professor of genetics and biochemistry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, is looking at the possibility of vitamin A being able to prevent or reverse the brain defects caused by fetal alcohol syndrome. While this research is still in the beginning stages and has yet to be tested on humans, Fainsod, the Hebrew University and the University of Manitoba have created a joint fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, or FASD, research consortium to further study the effects of vitamin A on the brain.
Vitamin B3
A 2006 study by Cornell University, published in the journal "Public Library of Science -- Medicine" looked at the effects of nicotinamide, a form of vitamin B3, and if it could reverse the brain defects commonly seen in fetal alcohol syndrome. Using baby mice that had been exposed to ethanol and suffered brain abnormalities similar to newborns with fetal alcohol syndrome, the researchers injected nicotinamide and found it prevented brain cell death in the mice. They hope to provide clinical trials in humans and see the same result.
Vitamin C
A research study performed in 2009 and published in the "Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences" showed that, in the brains of rats, vitamin C had the ability to prevent some of the abnormalities seen in the brain from fetal alcohol syndrome. Even when given after exposure to ethanol, the vitamin C seemed to work as a protective measure toward the effects of fetal alcohol syndrome.
Vitamin E
In numerous studies conducted by the McKnight Brain Institute of the University of Florida, the effects of vitamin E on fetal alcohol syndrome have found promise. The most recent study, conducted by Kendra Siler-Marsiglio, shows that a vitamin E that has been chemically engineered to target mitochondria is able to promote brain cell survival in cases of fetal alcohol syndrome. The engineered vitamin can be taken by the mother and it has been shown to have the ability to cross the blood-placenta barrier of the pregnant mother. This therapy shows promise in becoming a therapeutic treatment against disability and death from fetal alcohol syndrome.
References
- Mayo Clinic: Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
- Nutra; B Vitamin May Protect Against Fetal Alcohol Syndrome; Stephen Daniells; February 22, 2006
- "The Vancouver Sun"; Vitamin A May Help Curb Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Study; Mary Agnes Welch; March 2, 2011
- "Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences"; Vitamin C Protect Ethanol Induced Apoptotic Neurodegeneration in Postnatal Rat Brain; Naseer MI et al.; 2009
- National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome; Weekly Research Spotlight; Michael Ybarra
