Wednesday, April 15, 2015

Paternal sperm may hold clues to autism

There is much evidence that autism is caused by a combination of environmental and genetic factors.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-04/jhm-psm041315.php

Public Release: 15-Apr-2015
Johns Hopkins Medicine

In a small study, Johns Hopkins researchers found that DNA from the sperm of men whose children had early signs of autism shows distinct patterns of regulatory tags that could contribute to the condition. A detailed report of their findings will be published online in the International Journal of Epidemiology on April 15.

Autism spectrum disorder (autism) affects one in 68 children in the U.S. Although studies have identified some culprit genes, most cases remain unexplained. But most experts agree that autism is usually inherited, since the condition tends to run in families. In this study, investigators looked for possible causes for the condition not in genes themselves, but in the "epigenetic tags" that help regulate genes' activity.

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In addition to being easier to sample than egg cells from women, sperm are more susceptible to environmental influences that could alter the epigenetic tags on their DNA.

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