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Cesarean section changes DNA of newborns
- Jun 30, 2009 at 12:26 PM
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Cesarean section changes DNA of newborns
Swedish research shows that a Cesarean birth section changes a newly-born's DNA.
- Foto: JOACHIM ADRIAN
Children who are born by Cesarean section may have an increased risk of immune deficiency-related illnesses later in life compared to those who are born by natural birth, according to new research from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm.
"Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have discovered that babies born by planned Cesarean section experience changes to the DNA pool in their white blood cells," the Karolinska Institute says.
"Our results provide the first pieces of evidence that early so called epigenetic programming of the immune system during birth may have a role to play," says Professor Mikael Norman of the Institute's Department of Clinical Science, Intervention and Technology.
Increased risk
The Institute says that the findings, which are presented in the July issue of the scientific journal Acta Paediatrica, may be part of the explanation as to why babies born by Cesarean section have an increased risk of developing certain immunological diseases such as diabetes, asthma or leukaemia in later life.
In the Karolinska study, blood was sampled from the umbilical cords of 37 newborns just after delivery and then again three to five days after the birth and analysed to see the degree of chemical alteration of DNA in white blood cells.
"This showed that the 16 babies born by Cesarean section exhibited higher DNA-methylation rates immediately after delivery than the 21 born by vaginal delivery," the Institute says.
Back to normal
Three to five days after birth, the levels had dropped in infants delivered by Cesarean section so that there were no longer significant differences between the two groups, the study shows, and researchers say it is unclear why DNA changes are higher after Cesarean section deliveries.
"Although we do not yet know how specific gene expression is affected after Cesarean section deliveries, or to what extent these genetic differences related to mode of delivery are long-lasting, we believe that our findings open up a new area of important clinical research" says the main author of the report, Karolinska Institute Research Fellow Titus Schlinzig.
"Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have discovered that babies born by planned Cesarean section experience changes to the DNA pool in their white blood cells," the Karolinska Institute says.
"Our results provide the first pieces of evidence that early so called epigenetic programming of the immune system during birth may have a role to play," says Professor Mikael Norman of the Institute's Department of Clinical Science, Intervention and Technology.
Increased risk
The Institute says that the findings, which are presented in the July issue of the scientific journal Acta Paediatrica, may be part of the explanation as to why babies born by Cesarean section have an increased risk of developing certain immunological diseases such as diabetes, asthma or leukaemia in later life.
In the Karolinska study, blood was sampled from the umbilical cords of 37 newborns just after delivery and then again three to five days after the birth and analysed to see the degree of chemical alteration of DNA in white blood cells.
"This showed that the 16 babies born by Cesarean section exhibited higher DNA-methylation rates immediately after delivery than the 21 born by vaginal delivery," the Institute says.
Back to normal
Three to five days after birth, the levels had dropped in infants delivered by Cesarean section so that there were no longer significant differences between the two groups, the study shows, and researchers say it is unclear why DNA changes are higher after Cesarean section deliveries.
"Although we do not yet know how specific gene expression is affected after Cesarean section deliveries, or to what extent these genetic differences related to mode of delivery are long-lasting, we believe that our findings open up a new area of important clinical research" says the main author of the report, Karolinska Institute Research Fellow Titus Schlinzig.
Comments:
1-4 of 4 comments
1
Jun. 30, 2009 at 6:36 PM
This SHOULD go popular... there are some people who need to see this...
Jul. 6, 2009 at 1:19 AM
Wow, pretty neat. I am so thankful I never had a C Section!!
Jul. 6, 2009 at 6:23 PM
Very interesting- I hope more research is done on this. Thanks for posting!
1-4 of 4 comments
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Wow, that is interesting!! I wonder if my friend's daughter was born through cesarean... I'm going to have to share this with her. Thanks for posting! You always have the most interesting information!!