A novel prenatal alcohol use risk perception model: feedback from a Delphi process.

Understanding prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) risk perception is important for the communication and prevention of alcohol use during pregnancy. A previous systematic review has explored the dimensions and influencing factors of women's PAE risk perceptions, leading to the construction of Pregnancy Alcohol Use Risk Perception (PARP) conceptual model. This study aims to refine the PARP model using a Delphi process.

Prenatal alcohol exposure and associations with physical size, dysmorphology and neurodevelopment: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) is a significant public health concern, yet there is no internationally agreed set of diagnostic criteria or summary of underlying evidence to inform diagnostic decision-making. This systematic review assesses associations of prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) and outcomes of diagnostic assessments, providing an evidence base for the improvement of FASD diagnostic criteria.

Methods: Six databases were searched (inception-February 2023).

An oil-in-water emulsion containing a combination of ginger extract and synthetic cannabidiol with potent in vitro anti-inflammatory effects alleviates symptoms of atopic dermatitis in a clinical trial.

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a highly prevalent chronic skin disease. Anti-inflammatory and antipruritic emollients (emollients plus) with excellent cosmetic properties may alleviate AD-related symptoms and reduce the number of exacerbations. To screen for herbal extracts with potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidative potential in human skin cell cultures.

Student experiences in a novel interprofessional neurodevelopmental clinic: a qualitative study.

Background: Student-led clinics can provide low-cost speciality care and practical interprofessional education (IPE) opportunities. In Australia, there are currently limited speciality services available that provide neurodevelopmental assessments that consider fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) as one possible outcome. The aim of the current study was to understand student experiences in a novel interprofessional student-led clinic for children and adolescents with suspected or confirmed prenatal alcohol exposure.

Healing chronic idiopathic eosinophilic pneumonia using mepolizumab alone without corticosteroids.

While glucocorticoids remain the standard first-line treatment for chronic idiopathic eosinophilic pneumonia (CIEP), the long-term use is marred by significant side effects. This case study explores the effectiveness of mepolizumab, an anti-interleukin‑5 (IL-5) monoclonal antibody, as a novel corticosteroid-free alternative in treating CIEP. A 50-year-old woman presented with a 3-week history of progressive shortness of breath, dry cough and night sweats.

Key features of the innate immune response is mediated by the immunoproteasome in microglia.

Microglia are the resident immune cells of the central nervous system (CNS). We and others have shown that the inflammatory response of microglia is partially regulated by the immunoproteasome, an inducible form of the proteasome responsible for the generation of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I epitopes. While the role of the proteasome in the adaptive immune system is well established, emerging evidence suggests the immunoproteasome may have discrete functions in the innate immune response.

The Impacts of Periconceptional Alcohol on Neonatal Ovaries and Subsequent Adult Fertility in the Rat.

Maternal exposures during pregnancy can impact the establishment of the ovarian reserve in offspring, the lifetime supply of germ cells that determine a woman's reproductive lifespan. However, despite alcohol consumption being common in women of reproductive age, the impact of prenatal alcohol on ovarian development is rarely investigated. This study used an established rat model of periconceptional ethanol exposure (PCEtOH; 12.

Diagnostic Accuracy and economic value of a Tiered Assessment for Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (DATAforFASD): Protocol.

Introduction: Australian practices for diagnosing fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) are lengthy and require specialist expertise. Specialist teams are based in urban locations; they are expensive and have prolonged waitlists. Innovative, flexible solutions are needed to ensure First Nations children living in rural/remote communities have culturally appropriate and equitable access to timely diagnosis and support.

Brief early life angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibition attenuates the diuretic response to saline loading in sheep with solitary functioning kidney.

A solitary functioning kidney (SFK) from birth predisposes to hypertension and kidney dysfunction, and this may be associated with impaired fluid and sodium homeostasis. Brief and early angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibition (ACEi) in a sheep model of SFK delays onset of kidney dysfunction. We hypothesized that modulation of the renin-angiotensin system via brief postnatal ACEi in SFK would reprogram renal sodium and water handling.

Maternal hypothyroidism in rats impairs placental nutrient transporter expression, increases labyrinth zone size, and impairs fetal growth.

Introduction: Hypothyroidism during pregnancy is associated with fetal growth restriction (FGR). FGR is commonly caused by placental insufficiency and yet the role of hypothyroidism in placental regulation of fetal growth is unknown. This study aimed to investigate the effects of maternal hypothyroidism on placental nutrient transporter expression, placental morphology, and placental metabolism.

"Our Mothers Have Handed That to Us. Her Mother Has Handed That to Her": Urban Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Yarning about Community Wellbeing, Healthy Pregnancies, and the Prevention of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder.

In Australia, fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) is a largely hidden disability that is currently under-recognized, under-resourced, and under- or misdiagnosed. Unsurprisingly, efforts to prevent FASD in urban Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities are lacking. Further, mainstream approaches are not compatible with diverse and distinct Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ways of approaching family, pregnancy, and parenting life.

Prenatal alcohol exposure risk perception dimensions and influencing factors: A systematic review and conceptual model.

Objective: This paper aims to explore the available literature to understand how risks regarding prenatal alcohol exposure are perceived.

Methods: A systematic review (PROSPERO; CRD 42020212887) was undertaken. PubMed, Embase, PsycINFO, and CINAHL were searched for relevant quantitative and qualitative studies.

Exploring the experience of service users following attendance at a student-led interprofessional neurodevelopmental clinic.

Purpose: The aim of the current study was to understand service users' experiences at a recently established student-led interprofessional neurodevelopmental clinic for children and adolescents with suspected or confirmed prenatal alcohol exposure.

Method: Semi-structured interviews were completed at 3-months post-clinic attendance with 10 service users: eight parents/caregivers and two youth workers/case managers. Interview data were analysed thematically using NVivo12.

Beneficial effects of brief early life angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibition wane with time in sheep with solitary functioning kidney.

A child with a congenital solitary functioning kidney (SFK) may develop kidney disease from early in life due to hyperfiltration injury. Previously, we showed in a sheep model of SFK that brief angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibition (ACEi) early in life is reno-protective and increases renal functional reserve (RFR) at 8 months of age. Here we investigated the long-term effects of brief early ACEi in SFK sheep out to 20 months of age.

Periconceptional alcohol alters in vivo heart function in ageing female rat offspring: Possible involvement of oestrogen receptor signalling.

New Findings: What is the central question of this study? What are the cardiovascular consequences of periconceptual ethanol on offspring throughout the lifespan? What is the main finding and its importance? It is shown for the first time that periconceptional alcohol has sex-specific effects on heart growth, with ageing female offspring exhibiting decreased cardiac output. Altered in vivo cardiac function in ageing female offspring may be linked to changes in cardiac oestrogen receptor expression.

Abstract: Alcohol exposure throughout gestation is detrimental to cardiac development and function.

The role of maternal choline, folate and one-carbon metabolism in mediating the impact of prenatal alcohol exposure on placental and fetal development.

Prenatal alcohol consumption (PAE) may be associated with a broad spectrum of impacts, ranging from no overt effects, to miscarriage, fetal growth restriction and fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. A major mechanism underlying the effects of PAE is considered to be altered DNA methylation and gene expression. Maternal nutritional status may be an important factor in determining the extent to which PAE impacts pregnancy outcomes, particularly the dietary micronutrients folate and choline because they provide methyl groups for DNA methylation via one carbon metabolism.

Prevalence and Patterns of Prenatal Alcohol Exposure in Australian Cohort and Cross-Sectional Studies: A Systematic Review of Data Collection Approaches.

This study sought to determine data collection approaches in Australian cohort studies and explore the potential impact on reported prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) prevalence and patterns. Inclusion criteria were that studies related to a general Australian antenatal population where PAE was assessed and reported. Studies were excluded if they were not peer reviewed, examined the prevalence of PAE in pregnancies complicated by alcohol-use disorders, or were published in a language other than English.

Associations of maternal and foetoplacental factors with prehypertension/hypertension in early childhood.

Objective: To evaluate whether characterization of maternal and foetoplacental factors beyond birthweight can enable early identification of children at risk of developing prehypertension/hypertension.

Methods: We recruited 693 mother-offspring dyads from the GUSTO prospective mother-offspring cohort. Prehypertension/hypertension at age 6 years was identified using the simplified paediatric threshold of 110/70 mmHg.

Expression of and in the preterm piglet heart.

Preterm infants are at increased risk of death and disability, and cardiovascular instability after birth is a contributing factor. Immaturity of calcium handling in the preterm heart may limit myocardial contractility and cardiac output. Two transmembrane cation channels, TRPM6 and TRPM7, may regulate intracellular cardiac calcium in the neonatal period.

The social predictors of paternal antenatal mental health and their associations with maternal mental health in the Queensland Family Cohort prospective study.

Antenatal depression (AND) affects 1 in 10 fathers, potentially negatively impacting maternal mental health and well-being during and after the transition to parenthood. However, few studies have assessed the social predictors of paternal AND or their possible associations with maternal mental health. We analysed data from 180 couples participating in the Queensland Family Cohort longitudinal study.

Altered bone and body composition in children and adolescents with confirmed prenatal alcohol exposure.

Prenatal alcohol exposure can contribute to long term adverse health outcomes. Development of the skeletal system begins at the early embryonic stage and continues into early adulthood but the effect of prenatal alcohol exposure on skeletal growth is relatively unexplored in a clinical population. Here, we performed dual X-ray absorptiometry to examine bone, fat, and muscle accrual in children and adolescents diagnosed with, or at risk of, fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs).

Associations of maternal periconceptional alcohol consumption with offspring prehypertension/hypertension at age 6 years: the Growing Up in Singapore Towards healthy Outcomes prospective mother-offspring cohort study.

Objective: To evaluate the relationship of the levels of maternal alcohol consumption during the 1 year before pregnancy recognition with childhood cardiorenal, metabolic, and neurocognitive health.

Methods: In 1106 women and their children from the Growing Up in Singapore Towards healthy Outcomes mother-offspring cohort, quantity of maternal alcohol consumption in the 12 months prior to pregnancy recognition was categorized as high (≥75th percentile: 1.9 g/day), low (<1.

Associations between COVID-19 lockdown and post-lockdown on the mental health of pregnant women, postpartum women and their partners from the Queensland family cohort prospective study.

Background: There are very few developed countries where physical isolation and low community transmission has been reported for COVID-19 but this has been the experience of Australia. The impact of physical isolation combined with low disease transmission on the mental health of pregnant women is currently unknown and there have been no studies examining the psychological experience for partners of pregnant women during lockdown. The aim of the current study was to examine the impact of the first COVID-19 lockdown in March 2020 and post lockdown from August 2020 on the mental health of pregnant women or postpartum women and their partners.

Key Stakeholder Priorities for the Review and Update of the Australian Guide to Diagnosis of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder: A Qualitative Descriptive Study.

Since the 2016 release of the Australian Guide to the Diagnosis of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD), considerable progress has been made in the identification and diagnosis of the disorder. As part of a larger process to review and update the Guide, the aim of this study was to identify review priorities from a broad range of stakeholders involved in the assessment and diagnosis of FASD. Sixty-two stakeholders, including healthcare practitioners, researchers, other specialists, individuals with cultural expertise, lived experience and consumer representatives completed an online survey asking them to describe up to five priorities for the review of the Australian Guide to the Diagnosis of FASD.

Prenatal Choline Supplementation Alters One Carbon Metabolites in a Rat Model of Periconceptional Alcohol Exposure.

Prenatal alcohol exposure disturbs fetal and placental growth and can alter DNA methylation (DNAm). Supplementation with the methyl donor choline can increase fetal and placental growth and restore DNAm, suggesting converging effects on one-carbon metabolism (1CM). We investigated the impact of periconceptional ethanol (PCE) exposure and prenatal choline supplementation on 1CM in maternal, placental, and fetal compartments.