Adult fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) with various nouropsychiatric symptoms
Suzuki, K.
Nihon Arukoru Yakubutsu Igakkai Zasshi 39(5): 474-481
2004
ISSN/ISBN: 1341-8963 PMID: 15573676 Document Number: 576233
This is the first report of an adult patients with the fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) in Japan, who was treated for psychiatric disorders. The case was a 35 years-old woman who had many neuropsychiatric symptoms. She had been treated for 15 years at the Kurihama Alcoholism Center, for mental retardation, schizophrenic symptoms, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, learning disorder, trichotillomania, bipolar disorder, and impulsive behavior. She had low body weight at birth, mental retardation and a small facial malformation, which were diagnosed as FAS. At first admission, she was not diagnosed as FAS because her parent denied that her mother drank during pregnancy. Recently, her family admitted her mother's heavy drinking during pregnancy, and we diagnosed her as having FAS. She showed many pathological symptoms of the central nervous system such as very lower scores for performance IQ than for verbal IQ in the WAIS-R and enlargement of the lateral ventricle on MRI. Recently many reports have mentioned that prenatal alcohol exposure brings about severe damage of the central nervous system. Therefore, one author proposes that such disorders are referred to as fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD). This patient showed many symptoms of FASD, and was difficult to treat because of these symptoms.