|
9 July 2004
Antioxidants May Assist In Preventing Birth Defects Linked To Alcohol 
Wwomen who abuse alcohol during pregnancy may reduce the risk of birth defects by taking antioxidants, a study from the University of North Carolina indicates. The study, appearing in the Journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, found a 36 percent reduction in limb malformations in the offspring of pregnant mice exposed to ethanol and at the same time given a newly developed antioxidant compound called EUK-134. "What makes this study unique is that it shows for the first time that giving antioxidants to a pregnant mother at the same time she's exposed to alcohol can diminish the incidence of major malformations," said Dr. Kathleen K. Sulik, of the UNC's School of Medicine. Antioxidants protect key cellular components by neutralizing the damaging effects of free radicals, natural byproducts of cell metabolism. Free radicals form when oxygen is metabolized, or burned off, by the body.
They travel through cells, disrupting the structure of other molecules, causing cellular damage. Such cell damage is believed to contribute to aging and various health problems. Examples of antioxidants are selenium, vitamin C and E, zinc and superoxide dismutase (or SOD), a zinc- and copper- or manganese-containing enzyme that reacts with superoxide radicals to convert them to less dangerous chemical entities. Dietary antioxidants have attracted considerable interest in the popular press as potential treatments for cancer and aging. Sulik said a major focus of her research has been cellular mechanisms involved in birth defect formation, particularly those linked to ethanol exposure, such as fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, or FASD. Sulik said the implications apply directly to people with alcoholism. "The nutritional status of alcoholics isn't the best. People who are alcoholic by definition can't control their drinking and often cannot quit drinking during pregnancy." "And so the practical point of this paper is that perhaps we can diminish some of the problems that might exist if the nutritional status of alcoholic mothers improves. It would be great if these women would supplement their diets with a daily multivitamin." However, just like alcohol, even too many vitamins can be harmful to a fetus, Sulik said. "The idea of possibly adding antioxidants to alcoholic beverages has been proposed as a way of helping the situation, at least a little, for those women who are unable to quit drinking alcohol. There is no 'magic number' as to a safe versus unsafe amounts of alcohol consumed during pregnancy. It would differ from person to person. It would be different depending on the stage of pregnancy, the sensitivity of the developing fetus. And the stages we're looking at are really very early, before women would even recognize pregnancy. The bottom line: If there's a chance you could become pregnant, don't drink, or if you're drinking don't get pregnant."
|
