Alcohol-Enhanced Differentiation of PC 12 Cells

摘要

The ingestion of alcohol during pregnancy can lead to a number of disturbances ingrowth and development of the fetus with very consistent manifestations termed Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) (Jones et al., 1973). It has been estimated that one out of every thousand babies born will be severely affected by FAS, while four to five out of every thousand babies born will be moderately affected with FAS (Sulik et al., 1985). The less severe manifestations of FAS are termed Fetal Alcohol Effects (FAE) (Sulik et al., 1988). A common misconception is that FAS occurs only if the mother drinks consistently throughout pregnancy. However, this observation is not supported by the results of a number of case studies (Smith et al., 1990). It has been documented that ingestion of as few as 2 glasses of beer during the period of rapid brain development can cause significant mental retardation and birth defects (Smith et al., 1990).