Preclinical models of FASD also have used neuroprotective peptides to mitigate neuropathologies and behavioral impairments resulting from developmental alcohol exposure. Originally, researchers administered the neuroactive peptides NAP and SAL concurrently with alcohol to pregnant rodents in an attempt to prevent alcohol-induced damage in the offspring. Subsequently, researchers have administered the peptides to adolescent rodents exposed to alcohol prenatally and found that they can reduce deficits in behavioral tasks, such as a T-maze and a Morris water maze (Incerti et al. 2010). The peptides also reversed alcohol-related changes in NMDA receptors in the hippocampus and cortex. These peptides are being developed to treat a number of neurodegenerative diseases and may prove useful in the treatment of FASD.
