Alcohol during pregnancy affects baby's brain: Study

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal">NEW YORK: Researchers have come up with a new study which shows that even a little alcohol during pregnancy may affect a baby''s brain.<br />A group of adult rats failed a navigation test after their mothers had, during pregnancy, consumed quantities of alcohol that were equivalent to one drink a day for a human during the first six months, the study published in the journal <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Nature</span> said.<br />The rodent research, carried out by Daniel Savage and colleagues from the University of New Mexico Medical School, suggested that there may be more subtle effects of low-level alcohol intake that become obvious only later in life, as more complex tasks are taken on.<br />Savage and his colleagues also found altered levels of glutamate in the rats. Levels of this key messenger molecule were one-third lower than normal in the hippocampus, the brain region that is responsible for learning and memory.<br />Britain''s Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists advise pregnant women to limit their daily alcohol intake to one small glass of wine or beer or a measure of spirits. This is to reduce the risk of foetal alcohol syndrome - the learning and behavioural difficulties seen in children whose mothers drank heavily throughout pregnancy.<br />Savage said they were not sure how much alcohol was safe. "We really don''t know the magic number. In the absence of definitive information, it is better to abstain. Why take a chance?" he added.<br />Neurologist Michael Charness at Harvard Medical School agreed. "For every kid with foetal alcohol syndrome, there are another ten who have been exposed to alcohol, have no obvious physical defects but do have cognitive problems." </div> </div>