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Estimating the neurocognitive effects of an early intervention program for children with prenatal alcohol exposure
Parvaneh Yazdani1, Mary Motz, Gideon Koren
1ivision of Clinical Pharmacology &Toxicology, Hospital for Sick Children andUniversity of Toronto, Toronto.
Insights
Early intervention may protect infants from neurocognitive damage caused by heavy prenatal alcohol exposure. This pilot study found no differences in infant development scores between alcohol-exposed and drug-exposed infants in an intervention program.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
- Public Health
Background:
- Animal studies indicate early intervention can mitigate neurocognitive damage in offspring exposed to ethanol in utero.
- No human studies have investigated this protective mechanism in infants.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the potential of early intervention to mitigate neurocognitive damage in infants with heavy in utero ethanol exposure.
- To compare developmental outcomes in infants exposed to ethanol versus drugs of abuse within an early intervention program.
Main Methods:
- The study involved infants exposed heavily to ethanol in utero and a comparison group exposed only to drugs of abuse.
- The Breaking the Cycle early intervention program was implemented for mothers and young children.
- Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development, Third Edition (BSID-III) scores were used for comparison.
Main Results:
- Both ethanol-exposed and drug-exposed infants showed benefits from the early intervention program.
- No significant differences in BSID-III scores were observed between the two groups.
- These findings contrast with documented damage in ethanol-exposed infants without early intervention.
Conclusions:
- This pilot study suggests that early intervention may offer protection against some neurocognitive deficits associated with heavy prenatal alcohol exposure.
- Early intervention programs may be a viable strategy to support developmental outcomes in at-risk infants.
Background:
Animal studies suggest that early intervention in pups exposed heavily to ethanol in utero can mitigate their neurocognitive damage. No human studies on this promising mechanism exists.
Methods:
Breaking the Cycle is an early intervention program for drug-and alcohol addicted mothers and their young children. We compared BSID-III scores between infants heavily exposed to ethanol and a group exposed only to drugs of abuse, mainly cocaine. Both groups benefited from all aspects of our early intervention program.
Results:
The two groups did not differ in any aspect of the BSID-III. These data are in contradistinction to the damage seen in heavily ethanol- exposed infants not benefiting from early intervention.
Conclusions:
This pilot suggests that early intervention may mitigate some of the well described damages caused by heavy in utero alcohol exposure.
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