Delayed reactions to a simple eye test may be an indicator of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD), which until now have been difficult to diagnose, HealthDay News reported Feb. 23.

Researchers James Reynolds and Doug Munoz of Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, and colleagues based their conclusions on a comparison of oculomotor tests of 10 children with FASD and 12 children who did not have the disorder. "We found that FASD children had much longer reaction times -- defined as the time required to initiate eye movement -- both towards and away from the peripheral visual target" used in the study, Reynolds said.

FASD is more common but less severe than fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). "Whereas oculomotor tasks have been used to assess brain function in a number of different clinical populations, this is the first such study to be carried out in FASD children," said Reynolds.

The research was published in the March 2007 issue of the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.