Ethanol and the placenta: A review.
OBJECTIVE
In this paper we review published studies of alcohol exposure on placentation, placenta growth and function.


METHODS
We searched PubMed using the MeSH terms: placenta, ethanol, fetal alcohol syndrome and prenatal exposure with delayed effects. We searched the years 1996-2006 and used the references from other articles to expand our search. We limited the search to English only and human only. We excluded studies using choriocarcinoma and animal studies. We grouped the 66 papers into seven topic areas for ease of review.


RESULTS
Alcohol exposure is associated with placental dysfunction, decreased placental size, impaired blood flow and nutrient transport, endocrine changes, increased rates of stillbirth and abruption, umbilical cord vasoconstriction, and low birth weight.


CONCLUSIONS
Prenatal alcohol exposure has a broad range of adverse effects on placental development and function. Additional research on placental development from populations with heavy alcohol exposure should be encouraged. A tissue bank of placentas with detailed assessment of exposure to alcohol, smoking and other relevant data should be considered as a repository to support additional research.
Burd
Larry
L
Department of Pediatrics, University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Grand Forks, North Dakota, USA. laburd@medicine.nodak.edu
Roberts
Drucilla
D
Olson
Meredith
M
Odendaal
Hein
H
D001692:Biological Transport; D000431:Ethanol / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D005260:Female; D063647:Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders; D005313:Fetal Death / Q000139:chemically induced; D047109:Fetal Development; D005316:Fetal Distress; D006728:Hormones / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D039382:Maternal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D010920:Placenta / Q000098:blood supply / Q000187:drug effects / Q000503:physiopathology; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; D014470:Umbilical Cord; D014661:Vasoconstriction
D006728:Hormones; D000431:Ethanol