“Methamphetamine use is an increasing problem among women of childbearing age, leading to an increasing number of children with prenatal meth exposure. But until now, the effects of prenatal meth exposure on the developing brain of a child were little known,” study author Linda Chang, MD, with the John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaii at Manoa in Honolulu, said.

 

For the study, she and colleagues scanned 29 methamphetamine-exposed kids 3 to 4 years old who were exposed to an average of 58 g over 2.5 trimesters. These kids’ scans were compared to 37 unexposed children of the same ages.

 

The scans showed that kids exposed to meth during pregnancy had differences in the white matter structure and maturation of their brains compared to unexposed children. The children with prenatal meth exposure had up to four percent lower diffusion of molecules in the white matter of their brains.

 

“Our findings suggest prenatal meth exposure accelerates brain development in an abnormal pattern. Such abnormal brain development may explain why some children with prenatal meth exposure reach developmental milestones later than others,” said Chang.

 

According to a US Government survey done in 2007, about 13 million Americans ages 12 and up reported methamphetamine use at least once in their lifetimes, or 5 percent of them.