Prenatal alcohol exposure: Advancing knowledge through international collaborations

Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) is a major public health issue that is evident on an international scale. The current article summarizes a meeting that was held in Valencia, Spain, in September 2001, that reviewed ongoing international collaborations and the prospects for new collaborative research. The attendees represented nine different countries and many different specialties. Following overviews of existing international collaborations in South Africa, Russia, and Chile, a number of topics for future work were discussed. Issues related to the diagnosis of FAS, its prevalence and how measures might be enhanced and standardized were presented, as obtaining consistency across populations is of prime importance. Another session discussed the current state of basic research and how collaborations in this area might be initiated. The neurobehavioral profile of FAS and how work in this area could be advanced and interpreted in light of findings with different populations generated considerable discussion. There was a review of brain imaging data in FAS and how this might be utilized in assisting the diagnosis of FAS and alcohol-related neurodevelopmental disorder (ARND). A presentation on the utilization of international collaborations in defining the role of genetics in the etiology of FAS was included. Finally, issues related to the prevention of FAS and how these issues might be modified based upon different populations were presented. International collaborations provide a wealth of resources for the study of FAS, and it was hoped that this meeting might better enhance the work ongoing in this area, and provide opportunities for future work.