Treatments Of Alcoholism Essay Research Paper On — страница 2

developing fetus, such as low birth rate CNS ( Central Nervous System) impairment, etc. are caused by the direct consequence of the effects of alcohol. In addition, some of these studies have shown a clear continuum effect; the higher the blood alcohol of the mother, the greater the damage to the developing fetus. Even though the direct connection between alcohol intake and birth defects is now indisputable, there are other etiological factors associated with maternal drinking that must also be considered as contributing factors in an adverse pregnancy outcome. The most important of these secondary factors is alcohol related malnutrition, as nutritional deficiencies occur frequently with alcohol intake due to reduced appetite. Alcohol-induced zinc depletion is particularly well

documented. This has shown a positive correlation with reduced zinc status and low birth weight and fetal malformations, suggesting that inadequate zinc intake could also act independently as a teratogenic agent. (Yearbook of Nutritional Medicine 1984-85) Many studies have been performed on FAS. The University of Washington School of Medicine is the leader in scientific research of FAS. The school/students have done many controlled research study?s. A few will be discussed in the following pages. The longitudinal Study on Alcohol and Pregnancy, Neuropsychological Analyses of FAS/FAE Deficits, Parent-Child Assistance Program (P-Cap), and the FAS Follow-up Program. The longitudinal prospective study evaluates adverse outcomes in young adults who were pre-natally exposed to known

levels and patterns of alcohol. The basic hypothesis of this long-term study is that prenatal alcohol exposure exerts an enduring dose-dependent influence on offspring across a life-span. One of the many problems of misdiagnosis, and is shown in this study is that, the birth rate of FAS children is nearly 1 per 100 births. The problem is this, alcohol-affected children and adults are often denied services when they lack the characteristic FAS face and or mental retardation as defined by a standardized IQ score of less then 69. It is essential that these diagnosis? become more accurate so that the consequences can be understood and that the markers of clinically affected individuals be identified to support appropriate diagnosis and intervention. The Neuropsychological Analyses of

FAS/FAE deficits study proposes to quantify and link the neuroanatomic and neuropsychological abnormalities in people with brain damage caused by prenatal alcohol exposure. As of present time there is no scientific way of measuring the amount of brain damage caused by alcohol and its relation to the dysfunctional behavior of the patient. FAS is a diagnostic category which is the only means of measuring quantitative brain damage. People that suffer from FAS are often considered to be in a different group that carries the diagnosis of ARND Alcohol Related Neurodevelopment Disorders. What the researchers in this study are hoping to conclude, is by using a new analysis method it will reveal a significant means of differences in brain form between FAS groups and Control group that are

not simply due to micro cephalic and that are not detectable from the clinical reading of an MRI. The researchers also believe that that a brain/behavior study will find significant correlations between brain dysmorphology and neuropsychological deficits, and that the associations will be strong enough to suggest the nature and extent of brain damage in the individual case. Although there are many cases each day of FAS, and seems almost hopeless for the children born from ignorance, there is help. There are many programs out there one that will be mentioned is P-CAP. P-CAP is Parent-Child Assistance Program (formally known as Birth to 3). It started in 1991 in Seattle, WA. P-CAP is an intervention model developed through federal funds to enable communities to respond, through

long term advocacy, to the problems of mothers who have abused drugs or alcohol during pregnancy and to the needs of the children. This program reaches out to those women who had little to no prenatal care, and are not connected to community resources. The goals of P-CAP are simple. they are (1) to assist clients in obtaining alcohol and drug treatment, staying in recovery and resolving complex issues that might have risen during within the context of their substance abuse; (2) to assure that the children are in a safe home with these mothers and are receiving proper health care; (3) to link these mothers to community resources for the professional services and education that will help learn and maintain a healthy independent family life; (4) to demonstrate to community services