Dr. Sunil Subbaiah

Drinking in teenage years linked to memory problems and other health issues in later life.

• Binge drinking during teenage years could lead to thinning of certain areas of the brain causing problems with memory and other serious health implications later in life suggests a study.
• As per a recent study conducted by the oregon state university in the us, binge drinking is linked to shrinking of certain areas of the brain that are associated with memory, attention and language in teenagers. This, in turn, could lead to increased risk of developing alcohol use disorder later on in life.
• The researchers studied six parameters to determine the hazardous impact of heavy drinking on the brain in early years. These include response inhibition, working memory, verbal learning and memory, decision making and reward processing, alcohol cue reactivity, and socio-cognitive/socio-emotional processing,
• Teenage is a period where the brain is still undergoing biological and psychological behaviour development.
• Considering the fact that more and more teenagers are involved in binge drinking and heavy drinking, understanding the effects of consuming large quantities of alcohol on neural development and the impact on cognitive skills is very important.
• Binge or heavy episodic drinking is defined as four or more standard drinks within a two-hour drinking session for females and five or more drinks for males.
• As per the study, binge drinking among young people is associated with a thinning or reduction of areas of the brain that are known to play a key role in memory, attention, language, awareness and consciousness.
• This type of brain alteration in young life could lead to increased risk of alcohol use disorder in later years of life.

• Avoid nursing children to sleep or putting anything other than water in their bed-time bottle.
• Learn the proper way to brush and floss your child's teeth.
• Take your child to a pediatric dentist regularly to have his/her teeth and gums checked. 
• Starting at birth, clean your child’s gums with a soft infant toothbrush or cloth and water.
• The first dental visit should be scheduled by your childs first birthday.

What is erythroblastosis fetalis?
Erythroblastosis fetalis is also known as haemolytic anaemia in the newborn. This occurs due to blood incompatibility in the mother and foetus. Due to this incompatibility, the antibodies present in the mother’s blood, will pass through the placental barrier and attack the blood cells of the foetus. This will lead to the destruction of the red blood cells of the foetus and it is likely to cause anaemia in the foetus. This condition varies from mild to very serious. In its moderate or severe stage, the erythroblasts or immature red blood cells are formed in the blood of the foetus and this disease is called erythroblastosis fetalis.

Why does it happen?
The two main causes of erythroblastosis fetalis are Rh incompatibility and ABO incompatibility.

1. Rh Incompatibility: When the mother is Rh –ve and the father is Rh +ve, there is a good chance for the baby to be Rh +ve. The antigens present in the blood of the Rh +ve baby will behave like a foreign agent and the mother will produce antibodies against it. If it is the first pregnancy, then the child may not be at risk, however, if the second child ends up being of +ve blood group again, then the antibodies present in the mother’s blood will attack the baby and may result in a spontaneous abortion.
2. ABO Incompatibility: This usually occurs when the mother’s blood group A, B, O does not match the baby’s. This causes fewer complications in comparison to Rh incompatibility, but it may be severe if the child has a very rare blood group.

How to avoid it?
It is a highly preventive condition. Firstly, you have not tested your blood group; it is advised to get it tested along with the blood group of the father. If you already know your blood group, then you must mention it to your doctor. If the father has negative blood group, then there will be no problem. However if the father is Rh positive, then it is advised to get routine tests done by the doctor.
The other preventive measure to take is a treatment called RhoGAM or the Rh immunoglobulin. It reduces the reaction of the mother to the baby’s blood cells. This shot is administered around the 28th week of the pregnancy. It is also administered 72 hours after the birth of the baby with the positive blood group.

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