The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) has received a $2.9 million federal grant to study fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) and associated neurologic aftereffects, with the goal of discovering new treatments and preventions. This research aims to prevent disability and life-changing conditions that negatively impact our youngest patients.
Paul D. Drew, PhD, professor and chair of the UAMS College of Medicine Department of Neuroscience, will lead the study, which is funded by the National Institutes of Health for five years, through 2030.
Drew will be collaborating with Ania Majewska, PhD, a professor at the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York, and Fang Zheng, PhD, a professor in the Department of Neuroscience at UAMS.
FASD includes a wide range of physical, behavioral, and cognitive impairments that are caused by alcohol exposure during pregnancy. They cause neurological deficits in almost 5% of children born in the United States, resulting in long-term disabilities.
According to the NIH, “alcohol exposure during pregnancy can result in FASD by interfering with the development of the baby’s brain and other critical organs and physiological functions. This can lead to deficits after birth and beyond. Alcohol can disrupt development at any stage, even before a woman knows that she is pregnant.”
Research reported in this release was supported by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism of the National Institutes of Health under Award No. 1R01AA032932-01. This content does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH.