Did anyone see the article by cnn about Autism saying that older......
men might be the contributor of it
http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2012/08/23/older-fathers-may-be-linked-to-child-autism/
Older fathers may be linked to child autism
Women aren't the only ones whose biological clocks are ticking: A new study on the genetics of autism finds the sperm of older men may be to blame for many cases of the disorder.
The study, done by researchers in Iceland, indicates that as many as 20-30% of cases of autism and schizophrenia may be linked to the father's advanced age. Unlike findings on disorders such as Down Syndrome, this study found that the age of the mother made no difference.
"This is really a paradigm shift," said Dr. Jamie Grifo, program director of the New York University Fertility Center.
Traditionally, women have borne the brunt of concerns about having a healthy child as they age, while many men have assumed their sperm were no different at 80 than at 20.
"I had my babies at 38 and 39 and I was terrified," said anchor Ashleigh Banfield on CNN Newsroom. "Honey, you're in the conversation now. It's not just me."
Video: Older fathers may be linked to autism
While older men have an increased risk of fathering a child with autism, the risk is still low - 2% at the most for dads over 40, according to the new study.
The authors looked at random mutations in genes that are linked to autism and schizophrenia. Looking at 78 families, the researchers found that on average, a child born to a 20-year-old father had 25 random mutations that could be traced to the father's genes. Children born to 40-year-old fathers had 65 mutations.
As men age, "Sperm will have acquired more mutations than when they were younger, which will increase the chance of children they father inheriting a disease-producing mutation," said Richard Sharpe, who does research on male reproductive health at the MRC Centre for Reproductive Health at the University of Edinburgh.
One scientist said men might want to take a tip from some young women who freeze their eggs to use when they're older.
"Collecting the sperm of young adult men and cold-storing for later use could be a wise individual decision," wrote Alexey Kondrashov, a professor who studies evolution at the University of Michigan's Life Sciences Institute.
What do you think????????????
Interesting. My DS is on the autism spectrum and ex DH was 26 when we had him. There's so many factors that could come into play when a child has autism. I believe for my family personally genetics was one contributing factor. I just came to the realization a few short years ago that my father is on the spectrum. My dad is a responsible, intelligent, contributing member of society, he just has a few quirks that can't be explained. I only realized this after seeing similar quirks in DS. Although life can be very challenging at times with a special needs child, I would never change it. I feel as God has specially chosen me for this amazing challenge. I've grown as a person, a mother, in a way I wouldn't have been able to otherwise.
Doesn't apply here. DH is a year younger than me and my yougest autism child was born when i was 25.
Doesn't apply here, either. My exh was 18 and I was 19 when I got pregnant with my DS.
That was truly interesting but, I would have to say they are way off base about it too. I think autism is more from genetics than sperm. Now as I say this, I realize that without the sperm, there is no genetics. Same as with the eggs. I just don't think it has to do with how much sperm there is or how much eggs there are that causes autism. I think it has to do with how the genes are shaped and from which sides the family those genes come from and through how many generations of each family member and how many different genes have been introduced into the gene pool. And based on just this little bit of genetics, you can have a million different ways for our genes to be produced.
he made me proud, but broke my heart...
- oredeb
on Aug. 29, 2012 at 5:19 PM