PowerPoint 15 Flashcards
What is the leading cause of preventable birth defects and mental retardation?
Fetal Alcohol Syndrom
What is the leading known environmental teratogen?
Ethanol
What is the difference between FAS and FASD?
fetal alcohol syndrome = dysmorphic FASD
FASD = fetal alcohol spectrum disorder = umbrella term
What three classes are symptoms of FASD put into?
1) growth deficiency (prenatal and/or postnatal)
2) cranio-facial abnormalities
3) CNS dysfunction
What are the 5 diagnoses under the FASD umbrella?
1) FAS with confirmed prenatal alcohol exposure
2) FAS without confirmed prenatal alcohol exposure
3) pFAS (partial FAS)
4) Alcohol Related Neurodevelopmental Disorder (ARND)
5) Alcohol Related Birth Defects (ARBD)
What are these symptoms of?
Facial deformities, growth retardation, severe nervous system effects and reduced intelligence
FAS
is Fetal Alcohol Effect (FAE) better or worse than FAS?
it is a milder form, but it still has serious nervous system effects
What are other neuro disorders that might be brought about or exacerbated by prenatal alcohol exposure?
- bipolar disorder
- other psychotic disorder
- schizophrenia
- autism spectrum disorder
What are additional features that can be associated with FAS?
- cleft lip
- cleft palate
- skull malformations
- brain malformations
- Low IQ
- behavioral problems
- small head
- impaired fine motor function
What does ARND (alcohol related neurodrvelopmental disorder) =?
FASD
What is microcephaly?
Abnormally small head
What is microencephaly?
Abnormally small brain
Loss of what kind of function occurs as a result of FASD?
Executive function
Damage to which brain area is associated with FASD and loss of executive function?
Frontal lobe defects
True or False: every person with FAS/FASD has mental retardation
False
True or False: clinical signs of FAS are essentially permanent
True
True or False: a drinking father directly causes FAS
False
True or false: FAS is an inherited disorder
False
True or False: FAS always involved brain damage
True
What is agenesis of the corpus callosum?
Failure of an organ to develop during embryonic growth and development due to the absence of primordial tissue
What are some of the behavioral deficits of someone with primary callosal agenesis
- impaired social skills
- poor personal insight
- emotional immaturity
- lack of introspection
- general deficits in social judgement and planning
- poor communication of emotions
- unable to see others’ perspectives
- unable to efficiently plan and execute daily activities
What is Hypoplasia
Cerebellum is smaller than usual and is not completely developed
Glial cell functions in hypoplasia/agenesis
- corpus callosum initially formed by glial cells
- glial cells produce neurotrophic factors
- glial cells control local production of cholesterol in the CNS
- Cholesterol is needed in membrane formation and maintenance
At what temperature does mercury evaporate?
Room temperature
What are the different forms of mercury that are naturally occurring?
- elemental or metallic Hg
- inorganic Hg
- Organic Hg
Which comes first in the process from mercury to methymercury, biotransformation or bioaccumulation?
Biotransformation
What is the most frequently encountered form of mercury that is formed by microorganism methylation?
Methylmercury
Can mercury touch the blood brain barrier?
No! It must be mediated by the neutral amino acid carrier system as a meh-cysteine complex
What are the natural sources of mercury?
- natural degassing of the earth including volcanoes
- combustion of fossil fuels
- industrial discharges and wastes
- incineration and crematories
- dental amalgams
What was the kind of diet invovled in the CNS disease in Minamata disease related to?
Fish diets
What are the factors that determine the health effects of mercury?
- the type of mercury concerned
- the dose
- the age or developmental stage of the person exposed
- the duration of the exposure
- the route of exposure
What are very sensitive to methylmercury toxicity?
Neural stem cells
Notch prevents ______ from differentiating
NSCs
______________ acts through stimulation of Notch to inhibit neuronal differentiation
Methylmercury
methylmercury increased the activiation of the apoptosis marker __________ which was associated with a decrease in cyclin E, crucial for S phase of the cell cycle
Caspase 3
What are the additional effects of methylmercury?
- impaired mitochondrial function
- generation of increased reactive oxygen species (ROS)
- alteration of intracellular calcium ion homeostasis
