Alcohol, nicotine mix during pregnancy increases health risk in newborns

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-09/uoh-an092320.php

News Release 23-Sep-2020
University of Houston

University of Houston researchers have found that during early pregnancy, the mix of alcohol and nicotine significantly alters the gene regulatory pathways of the developing fetus, which can lead to major deficiencies in brain development. Metin Akay, founding chair and John S. Dunn Endowed Chair Professor of biomedical engineering is reporting the findings, the first study of its kind, in the Nature journal Scientific Reports.

•••••

It's no small problem.

Maternal substance abuse (drinking and smoking) during pregnancy increases health risks, including cognitive impairments, lower academic achievement, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), the likelihood of substance abuse in newborns, and may even lead sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Despite these harmful effects, more than 10% of pregnant women drink and smoke, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

Following alcohol treatment, 1,257 unique genes were found to be differentially upregulated and 330 were differentially downregulated. Following perinatal nicotine-alcohol treatment contrasted against the alcohol group, 2,113 genes were upregulated and 1,836 were downregulated.

•••••