Investigators: Alexander Larcombe, Chloe Bakker, David Martino, Emily Chivers, Martyn Symons, Mitchell Bestry
Plain language summary: This study uses a model of alcohol consumption during pregnancy to help us explore whether a simple dietary intervention helps counteract some of the known effects alcohol has on the developing baby.
Project description:
Children with FASD are often diagnosed later than is optimal partly because we don't have any laboratory tests that can identify children at risk. This study aims to discover a new way of identifying children with FASD by finding a measure of specific genes in brain development pathways that are affected. We are also trialing a simple dietary strategy to help protect against harmful alcohol exposure around conception.
External collaborators: Professor Elizabeth Elliott (The Children's Hospital at Westmead), Associate Professor Jeff Craig (Murdoch Children's Research Institute)