Ocular involvement in fetal alcohol spectrum disorder: a review.

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS), the most severe manifestation of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) is considered the leading non-hereditary cause of mental retardation and neurological deficit in the Western world. There lie a huge associated human cost to both FASD victims and their families and a considerable financial burden. This problem is being tackled on many fronts including community awareness programs, biomarker development for fetal alcohol exposure, research into preventative treatments and the development of more robust diagnostic systems for the early detection of FASD.

Sonic hedgehog expression is disrupted following in ovo ethanol exposure during early chick eye development.

The eye is particularly sensitive to ethanol's teratogenic effects. Our previous work, using a chick embryo model system, has shown that ethanol acts rapidly to perturb vital processes of early eye development producing defects of the lens and retina. Ethanol-induced disruption of the midline ventral telencephalon, a key site for expression of ocular morphogens such as sonic hedgehog (Shh), was further established.

Subglottic injury: a clinically relevant animal model.

Objectives/hypothesis: To develop a clinically aligned, reproducible model for subglottic injury.

Study Design: Prospective randomized control pilot study.

Methods: Juvenile (3-month-old) New Zealand White rabbits underwent intubation with a 3-cm length of an endotracheal tube that was chosen so that there would be no air leak below 20 cm of water.

Histological characterisation of the ethanol-induced microphthalmia phenotype in a chick embryo model system.

The eye is a sensitive indicator of the teratogenic effects of ethanol with ophthalmic defects such as microphthalmia frequently observed in FAS children. In this study, we have optimised the chick-embryo model system to investigate ethanol-induced ocular defects. Injection of 20% ethanol (125μl) directly into the yolk sac of HH-stage 7 embryos resulted in an overall 30% incidence of eye anomalies including microphthalmia.

Differential antimicrobial peptide gene expression patterns during early chicken embryological development.

The adaptive immune system is not completely developed when chickens hatch, so the innate immune system has evolved a range of mechanisms to deal with early pathogenic assault. Avian beta-defensins (AvBDs) and cathelicidins (CTHLs) are two major sub-classes of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) with a fundamental role in both innate and adaptive immune responses. In this study, we demonstrate distinct expression patterns of innate immune genes including - Toll-like receptors (TLRs) (TLR2, TLR15 and TLR21, but not TLR4), the complete repertoire of AvBDs, CTHLs and both pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines (IL1B, IL8, IFNG and IL10) during early chicken embryonic development.

The effects of ethanol on CNS development in the chick embryo.

Human and animal studies show that the central nervous system (CNS) is particularly vulnerable to developmental exposure to alcohol across all stages of development. New critical periods of ethanol sensitivity continue to be defined. The aim of this study was to further examine the stage-specific effects of ethanol on CNS development using a relatively simple programme of neuronal migration and differentiation, the chick embryo spinal cord, and treating at the immediate post-neurulation stage.