London, April 7 (Inditop.com) Women who drink during pregnancy could be increasing the risk of their child developing epilepsy, a study has indicated.
The research found that children who suffer from Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) – a condition caused by maternal drinking during pregnancy – were six times more likely to suffer from epilepsy- chronic neurological disorder, reports telegraph.co.uk.
They were also more likely to suffer at least one seizure at some point in their lives.
Researchers examined the histories of 425 individuals from two FASD clinics, looking for a correlation between suspected risk factors including exposure to alcohol and drugs during pregnancy and occurrences of epilepsy and seizures.
They tried to understand about the risks posed to unborn babies by mothers’ alcohol consumption, but added that it was difficult to establish a causal link between drinking and epilepsy.
James Reynolds of the Centre for Neuroscience Studies at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, who contributed to the study said: “While this report supports a growing impression that fetal alcohol exposure may predispose the immature brain to the development of epilepsy, the results do not establish a direct cause-effect relationship between FASD and epilepsy.”
“Establishing a direct link between these clinical conditions will be a difficult challenge given our incomplete understanding of how ethanol damages the developing brain and what neuropathological changes in brain tissue lead to the development of different types of epilepsy,” he added.
Previous research had indicated a connection between drinking during pregnancy and rates of alcoholism, drug abuse, depression and even Parkinson’s and stroke.
Dan Savage, professor at the University of New Mexico’s department of Neurosciences said: “The consensus recommendation of scientists and clinical investigators, along with public health officials around the world is very clear that a woman should abstain from drinking during pregnancy as part of an overall programme of good prenatal care that includes good nutrition, adequate exercise, sufficient rest, and proper prenatal health care.”
