Alcohol Help

Manitoba will double the capacity of a respected fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) support program and expand FASD diagnostic capacity in northern and rural communities as part of new funding for its five-year FASD strategy. This announcement was made by Children and Youth Opportunities Minister Kevin Chief.

“Manitoba is a recognized a leader in the area of FASD diagnosis and treatment across Canada,” said Chief. “Our continuing investments will help ensure that people living with FASD, and their families, have the supports they need to succeed in their communities, wherever they live in the province.”

Manitoba’s five-year FASD strategy is now in its fifth year and Budget 2012 will add nearly $500,000 to the strategy for a total investment of $13.3 million.

Part of the new funding will go to double to the capacity of Stepping Out on Saturdays in Winnipeg, a respite and socialization program for children and families affected by FASD that are involved with Manitoba Child and Family Services. The funding will also be used to expand multi-disciplinary FASD diagnostic capacity within rural and northern areas of Manitoba. Multi-disciplinary diagnostics are a proven approach that ensures children affected by FASD have early support services tailored to their specific needs.

“Manitoba FASD Centre staff members are profoundly grateful and enthusiastic for the opportunities of expanding FASD diagnosis in Manitoba,” said Dr. Sally Longstaffe, medical director of the Manitoba FASD Centre and network. “We are equally eager to work collaboratively in enhancing diagnostic capacity both here at the Manitoba FASD Centre and within the rural and northern communities. This will be greatly beneficial for families across the province.”

There will also be new funding for projects that address awareness and prevention, diagnosis, intervention and support, community engagement, research and training such as:

• support for Visions and Voices, a public speaking program for adults with FASD;
• services for youth and adults with FASD in rural and northern areas;
• support for The Mothering Project, a new drop-in program launching in 2013 to offer a variety of supports for women who use substances and are pregnant or have young children;
• expansion of the Youth Justice Program;
• additional direct service support for children, youth and families in Winnipeg;
• a new FASD Parent Support Program to help families and service providers outside Winnipeg understand FASD and connect effectively with local supports and services;
• funding for community coalitions across Manitoba to network, share ideas and successes, and learn about current FASD research and best practices;
• expansion of research capacity; and
• more training opportunities for a variety of direct service providers.

In April 2007, the government of Manitoba announced a co-ordinated fetal alcohol spectrum disorder strategy developed by an interdepartmental committee in consultation with experts and community stakeholders. The strategy builds upon existing multi-departmental, multi-million-dollar prevention activities and service supports available for individuals with FASD throughout their lives, said the minister.

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The City of Surrey proclaimed May 27 – June 2 as Alcohol & Substance Use Awareness Week during last night’s Council meeting. The week will include a variety of events designed to increase public awareness about signs and symptoms of substance use, and supply resources on how to get help.

“Drugs and alcohol abuse have a devastating effect on families and communities,” says Mayor Dianne Watts. “We want parents and loved ones to be able to recognize the dangers and signs of substance use, and know where they can get the support and resources that are available to them.”

The following events will take place prior to and during Alcohol & Substance Use Awareness Week:

# A showing of the movie “Bad Medicine” or “Kharaab Daru” will be held on May 22 between 7:00 pm and 9:00 pm at Kwantlen Polytechnic University. The movie discusses alcohol’s role within the South Asian Culture and a panel of experts will be on hand to answer questions
# Information booths will be set up at the Kwantlen Mental Health and Addictions Fair on May 22 between 10:00 am and 2:00 pm, and at Central City Mall on May 31 between 4:00 pm and 6:00 pm to provide information to the public about the harms of substance use and how to find help
# An evening workshop called “Loving an Addict, Loving Yourself” will be held at the White Rock Community Centre on May 30 from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm
# SOURCES Community Resource Society will launch its YouTube channel, which contains a series of engaging and entertaining videos aimed at increasing awareness about substance use among youth and their parents

Businesses and community groups are also being encouraged to host their own Alcohol & Substance Abuse awareness events.

Themed fact sheets will be posted daily on the City’s Crime Reduction Strategy Website and distributed through social media. The themes are:

# Sunday, May 27: Prescription Medications
# Monday, May 28: Substance Use and Body Image
# Tuesday, May 29: A Closer Look at Process Addictions
# Wednesday, May 30: Parenting
# Thursday, May 31: Cool Refusal Skills
# Friday, June 1: Soft? Social? Natural? Drugs – Are they really?
# Saturday, June 2: Substance Use and Older Adults

The second annual Alcohol & Substance Abuse Use Awareness Week is a partnership between the City of Surrey, the Alcohol and Drug Education Services, B.C. Responsible and Problem Gambling Program, DIVERSEcity Community Resources Society, Fraser Health Authority, Klay-how-ya, Kwantlen Polytechnic University, Options Community Services Society, Pacific Community Resources Society, SOURCES Community Resources Society, and the Surrey School District.

For more information, please visit: www.surrey.ca/crimereduction.

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If you are pregnant or trying to conceive, you can discuss alcohol consumption with your health-care professional; this is a routine part of women’s health care.

All women have to make lifestyle changes during pregnancy or when they are planning to become pregnant. Sometimes this may mean adapting an exercise routine, resting more or eating healthier foods. It may also mean changing your pattern of alcohol consumption. These types of changes, along with regular prenatal care, can help you have a healthy pregnancy — and a healthy baby.
Just one drink…is it okay?

We just don’t know. There isn’t enough evidence to know how much harm small amounts of alcohol during pregnancy may cause your baby. For this reason, abstinence is the safest choice if you are pregnant.

For the health of your baby, it’s never too late to reduce the amount of alcohol you consume or to stop drinking.
How common is alcohol use in pregnancy?

The majority of Canadian women drink alcohol. Nearly 77 per cent of women over the age of 15 have had at least one drink of alcohol within the last year, and 33 per cent report drinking at least once a week. Though drinking can be problematic for some who experience alcohol abuse or dependence, this is a safe and enjoyable practice for many women.

However, the nature and potential severity of problems increase when alcohol is consumed during pregnancy. Between 10 and 15 per cent of women report drinking during pregnancy, and over 62 per cent of women report drinking alcohol during the three months prior to pregnancy.
How does alcohol affect my unborn baby?

When you are pregnant, anything you eat or drink can affect your baby. Alcohol that you consume quickly reaches your baby and can affect him or her for longer than it affects you. Even from the very start of your pregnancy, alcohol can have serious and permanent consequences.

Evidence shows that when a pregnant woman consumes alcohol at high-risk levels or binge drinks, her baby is at risk of developmental abnormalities. These effects of alcohol exposure while in the womb are called fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD). FASD is estimated to affect one per cent of the Canadian population.

FASD is an umbrella term that refers to the range of harms that may be caused by prenatal exposure to alcohol:

• Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS)
• Partial fetal alcohol syndrome (pFAS)
• Alcohol related neurodevelopmental disorder (ARND)

These conditions cause restricted growth, facial abnormalities and central nervous system dysfunction (permanent brain damage). Children, teens and adults with FASD may struggle with depression and anxiety, and experience difficulties with social interactions and relationships, as well as other aspects of their lives.
Alcohol content of drinks

Any type of alcohol can harm your baby – beer, coolers, wine or hard liquor. Some of these drinks have higher alcohol content per volume than others. What matters is the amount of alcohol you consume and how often you have it, rather than the type of drink. Binge drinking or drinking at high-risk levels can be particularly harmful for an unborn baby.
I didn’t know I was pregnant…what should I do?

Many pregnancies are not planned; having a small amount of alcohol before you knew you were pregnant is unlikely to harm your baby.

Nevertheless, if you are trying to become pregnant or think you could become pregnant, you may need to consider changing your alcohol consumption patterns. It is particularly important to avoid binge drinking. Speak with your health-care professional about this.
Where to turn if you need support to change your habits

Alcohol abuse or dependency may make it more difficult for you to change your drinking habits if you become pregnant, even if you really want to make changes. Signs of alcohol abuse or dependency include a pattern of drinking which results in harm to your health, interpersonal relationships or ability to work or go about your daily life.

It’s never too late to reduce the risks for your baby. If you are having difficulty controlling your drinking, speak with your health-care professional or call the free, anonymous Motherisk Alcohol and Substance Use Helpline at 1-877-327-4636.
Alcohol and breastfeeding

Alcohol freely distributes into milk and will be ingested by nursing infants. Low-level, occasional alcohol consumption is not likely to pose a problem to an infant, but heavy alcohol consumption or binge drinking should be avoided. Ideally, nursing should be withheld temporarily after alcohol consumption; at least two hours per drink to avoid unnecessary infant exposure. Side effects reported in infants include sedation and impairment of motor skills.

The Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada
780 Echo Drive, Ottawa, ON K1S 5R7
Canada
Tel: 613-730-4192

If you are adolescent and female: consume four drinks at one sitting, and you leave yourself vulnerable to compromising what is know as your spatial working memory. Binge drinking in adolescence can interrupt normal brain cell growth, particularly in the frontal brain regions critical to logical thinking and reasoning. In short, it damages cognitive abilities — especially in female teens.

“Even though adolescents look like adults, their brains are still maturing,” says researcher Lindsay Squeglia, lead author of a new study in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research. “Throughout adolescence, the brain is becoming more efficient, pruning. In female drinkers, we found that the pre-frontal cortex was not thinning properly. This affects executive functioning.”

“Are the girls trying to keep up with the boys?” asks Edith Sullivan, a researcher at Stanford’s School of Medicine. “Quantity and frequency can be a killer for novice drinkers. Adding alcohol to the mix of the developing brain will likely complicate the normal developmental trajectory. Long after a young person recovers from a hangover, risk to cognitive and brain functions endures.”

Sullivan, who has done a lot of work with the brain structure of alcoholics, is certain that what is known as “telescoping” is real: “As they develop alcoholism, women seem to develop dependence sooner than men. Drink for drink, it is worse for females.”

Do adult women have more difficulty recovering from alcoholism? According to Sullivan, “The jury is out as to whether men or women recover faster. We have studied alcohol dependent men and women, and have found similar extents of regional brain tissue shrinkage. Women look no worse off than men. To me, that’s good news.”

Sullivan underscores that recovery is possible: “Alcoholism is a dynamic process. It takes a while to develop, and to resolve. I like to use the stroke model: they get a year to recover.”

What leads to alcoholism in one person, and not in another? “Style of drinking factors,” says Sullivan. “And genetic background — some people may be more prone to alcoholism.”

Is there a genetic component to alcoholism? Toronto-raised Peter Thanos knows that there is. A neuroscientist at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory on Long Island, New York, Thanos has used brain-imaging and behavioural studies with rats to understand the brain’s rewards circuits. He has proven that certain brain receptors play a role in excessive drinking. Here’s how it works:

• Alcohol, like all addictive drugs, increases the brain’s production of the neurotransmitter dopamine, which sends a message of pleasure and reward.

• Over time, the brain responds to the stimulation of alcohol by decreasing certain dopamine receptors.

• These receptors — known as D2 receptors — are nerve cell proteins to which the dopamine must bind to send the pleasure signal.

• An alcoholic will experience a reward deficiency, and compensate by drinking more to try to re-capture the pleasure.

“Alcoholics will continue to drink to avoid the crash that comes with the low,” says Thanos. Or, alternatively, they may be individuals born with a lower D2 level. “Do you get low D2 levels after 30 years of drinking, or can you be born with lower D2? You could have one or the other,” says Thanos. “Many times, you have the combination effect. Alcoholics have lower D2 levels in their brains. If you have a lower D2 level, you are more vulnerable to the rewards of alcohol. And people who are genetically more vulnerable to the rewarding elements of alcohol are also more vulnerable to the atrophy of the brain from alcohol use.”

In his research, Thanos asked: would increasing the level of D2 receptors decrease the desire to drink? Indeed, the answer seemed to be ‘yes.’ He delivered the gene for D2 receptors directly into the brains of rats that had been trained to drink a large amount of alcohol. After the gene therapy, the heavy-drinking rats responded by drinking less. Says Thanos, “The lighter-drinking rats looked like teetotalers.”

“The evidence shows, indirectly, that there is a genetic component to alcoholism,” says Thanos. “But this is not the only gene in play. Alcohol is a very dirty drug. The consensus is that ultimately, we will understand all the genes and then we will have to understand how they interact.”

But for now, he has isolated one culprit. Says the Canadian scientist, a Queen’s grad: “You don’t want to give the public a false sense of being able to help them tomorrow. We’re just in the early stages of understanding the pieces of the puzzle of alcoholism. It is a chronic, relapsing brain disease, and the science supports this truth.”

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