Fetal brain during a binge drinking episode: a dynamic susceptibility contrast MRI fetal brain perfusion study.

Peter Kochunov, Carlos Castro, Duff M Davis, Donald Dudley, Hsiao-Ying Wey, David Purdy, Peter T Fox, Calvin Simerly, Gerald Schatten

Research Imaging Institute, The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, Texas 78229, USA. kochunov@uthscsa.edu

Neuroreport 2010 Jul 14

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We assessed the effects of a single episode of maternal alcohol intoxication on fetal brain blood perfusion in three pregnant dams (baboons) at the 24th week of pregnancy using dynamic susceptibility contrast magnetic resonance imaging. After the oral administration of alcohol, there was a four-fold increase in the peak contrast concentrations in the fetal brain. In addition, we observed a two- to three-fold increase in the contrast uptake and washout rates in the fetal brain. The underlying mechanisms of these changes are unknown, but we hypothesized that these could include the alcohol-mediated changes in placental permeability and fetal cerebral blood flow. Our findings indicate that alcohol intoxication produces profound changes, which may detrimentally influence neurodevelopmental processes in the brain.

Citation

Peter Kochunov, Carlos Castro, Duff M Davis, Donald Dudley, Hsiao-Ying Wey, David Purdy, Peter T Fox, Calvin Simerly, Gerald Schatten. Fetal brain during a binge drinking episode: a dynamic susceptibility contrast MRI fetal brain perfusion study. Neuroreport. 2010 Jul 14;21(10):716-21