Drug Exposure & Development

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Utah Addiction Center University of Utah Health Sciences Center 410 Chipeta Way, Suite 280 Salt Lake City, Utah 84108

Utah

The

Non-profit Organization

Addiction Center

U.S. POSTAGE PAID Salt Lake City, Utah Permit No. 1529

Volume 2 Issue 12

February 2011

Report

Dedicated to research, clinical training, and education in chemical addiction

Contact Us University of Utah Health Sciences Center 410 Chipeta Way, Suite 280 Salt Lake City, Utah 84108 Phone: (801) 581-8216 Fax: (801) 587-7858 E-mail: abbie.paxman@hsc.utah.edu Internet: http://uuhsc.utah.edu/uac/

A Message from the Director

Drug Exposure and Development

The Utah Addiction Center is based in the office of the University of Utah Senior Vice President for Health Sciences

“Jonah’s mother was a heroin addict. Shortly after birth, it was obvious INSTITUTIONAL ADVISORY BOARD Jonah was in withdrawal. His jittery movements and crying persisted for A. Lorris Betz, M.D., Ph.D. Louis H. Callister, J.D. the next 2 days and there was little Edward B. Clark, M.D. anyone could do to console him. M. David Rudd, PhD, ABPP He scratched his face trying to get Patrick Fleming, LSAC, MPA his hands to his mouth. His knees Raymond Gesteland, Ph.D. and elbows were rubbed raw from Jay Graves Ph.D. his agitated movement, and the John R. Hoidal, M.D. Glen W. Hanson, Ph.D, D.D.S muscles in his tiny legs were so stiff Glen W. Hanson Ph.D, D.D.S, that it was difficult to straighten his legs to diaper him” Maureen Keefe, RN, Ph.D (Available: http://drugabuse.gov/consequences/prenatal/ Jannah Mather, Ph.D. ). This real-life account illustrates the disturbing impact Chris Ireland, Ph.D. John McDonnell, Ph.D. of exposing a developing fetus to potent drugs of abuse Barbara N. Sullivan, Ph.D. during pregnancy. Most of the symptoms described above Ross VanVranken, ACSW are due to the fact that the infant’s body is going through Kim Wirthlin, MPA withdrawal from the effects of months of exposure to heroin. As difficult as it is to watch an innocent newborn suffer through this process, it is of some consolation to know that these withdrawal effects can be relieved with proper treatment and with time they will subside. However, effects of drugs of abuse during prenatal periods or exposure to these substances postnatally or even through adolescence can sometimes permanently affect a child’s development in dramatic or sometimes less obvious ways depending on the drug, the exposure pattern and environmental factors. Most people are aware that consumption of large quantities of alcohol through pregnancy frequently debilitates the offspring because expression of the resulting fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) includes severe physical and emotional damage that compromises the intellectual, cognitive and motor functions of the afflicted child. Such damage can be evident during the pregnancy or immediately after birth. By comparison, the impact of other drugs of abuse is more difficult to identify and may be associated with subtle diminished capacity that doesn’t fully express until years after the drug exposure. For example, over the past two decades, particularly during the height of the cocaine epidemic in the United States, considerable scientific effort was focused on determining the adverse effects of this potent stimulant, especially in cocaine-exposed infants and toddlers. Early reports of severe damage in children exposed to crack cocaine lead to the stigmatizing label of so-called ‘crack babies.’ After conducting better controlled studies with improved elements of prospective designs, it was determined that exposure of these young children to cocaine per se was much

» See Alcohol page 5

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