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Even Moderate Alcohol In Pregnancy Could Harm Fetus

by Gopalan on January 25, 2010 at 11:18 AM Women Health News

Consumption of even moderate amounts of alcohol during pregnancy affects the activity of genes in the developing fetus and that these changes last into adulthood, Australian researchers have shown.

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"We have long known that alcohol consumption during pregnancy can harm the developing fetus and have life-long effects on the individual's health and well being. What our current research helps to explain is the underlying mechanism," said researcher Dr Suyinn Chong from the Epigenetics Laboratory at Queensland Institute of Medical Research (QIMR).

The research was carried out in in collaboration with the Sigrid Juselius Foundation, Finland, and the University of Washington, Seattle.

"This is a new and exciting area where instead of studying the sequence of the genes, we are looking at the mechanisms that control our genes - known as epigenetics. This is an extra layer of information attached to your DNA which helps regulate the expression of genes - in other words whether they are switched on or off. These epigenetic changes determine whether a gene is converted into protein, which ultimately controls physical traits."

"Using mice as a model, we have shown for the first time that alcohol consumed during the first trimester affects the developing fetus by altering the epigenetic information."

The researchers used specific mice, whose fur colour reflected these epigenetic changes. Half the mothers drank relatively moderate amounts of alcohol (equivalent to a peak blood alcohol reading of 0.12 in humans) during pregnancy, while the other half consumed water.

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Even Moderate Alcohol In Pregnancy Could Harm Fetus

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