Autism, a developmental disorder that affects one in 150 American children, could be similar to Down Syndrome in that the risk for developing the disorder increases with the age of the parents when the child is born.

• The first study, which was led by Dr. Maureen Durkin of the University of Wisconsin, analyzed data on 300,000 U.S. births and 1,200 cases of autism. Dr. Durkin's team found an increased risk of autism among older parents and first-borns.
  
  The autism risk was found to increase by 20 percent for every ten year's increase in parental ages. The ages of the mother and father both mattered.
  
  First-born children were also at increased risk, perhaps because some families stop having children after they find out their first child has special needs. Dr. Durkin also speculated that first-born children might be exposed to more toxins from their mothers' bodies, which can put them at a higher risk for autism.
  
  If a mother is over 35 and a father over 40, their first-born is at triple the risk for autism.
• The second study was from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Dr. John Constantino, M.D., and his colleagues identified two regions of DNA associated with autism.
  
  Dr. Constantino believes that the genetic basis of autism is complex, with many genes and genetic variations contributing to the syndrome.
  
  "Genetic factors tend to interact with one another," he said. "One gene might increase risk by 10 percent, but two genes in proper combination increases it by ten-fold."

Labels: autism, parents, genetics

Posted By: Aspen Education Group