Toronto, ON - The Motherisk Program of The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto has launched the first ever scientific journal dedicated to Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS). The "Journal of FAS International" at www.motherisk.org/JFAS publishes peer reviewed original papers, as well as case reports, reviews and critical appraisals of papers published in other publications. The editorial board includes noted Canadian and American researchers and clinicians actively engaged in FAS research, diagnosis and program delivery.

FAS and related disorders are the most prevalent cause of developmental delay and brain insult. Affecting an estimated 0.3% to 1% of all offspring, victims of FAS face debilitating, and often devastating effects that last a lifetime.

The new Journal of FAS International is readily available to anyone with a computer and internet connection. "We decided to publish the complete journal on the Web to make sure that researchers, clinicians, parents, educators and the public worldwide, can access it," says Dr. Gideon Koren, Director of the Motherisk Program and the Editor-in-Chief of the new journal.

The first issue of JFAS Int features an original paper by Dr Paul Lemoine, the French pediatrician who first described the syndrome in 1967. The 84 year-old pediatrician from Nantes shares the story of his search for the cause of troubling physical and neuro-developmental disabilities among his young patients more than fifty years ago.

Visit JFAS Int at www.motherisk.org/JFAS.

For more information e-mail journal.fas@sickkids.ca or call Motherisk at (416) 813-8084.