Dad's DNA Provides Early Clues About The Signs Of Autism

Researchers are still deciphering the genetic and environmental factors that may contribute to autism, a behavioral health issue that's estimated to affect about one in 68 children in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

For those dealing with a child who could be affected by autism, it's best to be diagnosed as soon as possible. Seeing a specialist, planning any necessary treatment and the right educational and social backgrounds can help him or her lead a completely normal life. 

"We know that early identification of autism spectrum disorder is beneficial to children and their families," Dr. Katharine Zuckerman, of Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, said in a news release. "Unfortunately, many families experience long delays between when they first have concerns and when their child gets diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder." 

"We wondered if we could learn what happens before someone gets autism," added the study's co-lead author Dr. Andrew Feinberg, director of the Center for Epigenetics at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. 

A new study published in the journal Pediatrics examined certain epigenetic tags from the DNA of 44 fathers' sperm, supporting increasing evidence of physiological trait variations that were connected by genes that could essentially be switched on and off on a cellular level. 

During the study, researchers collected a sperm sample from fathers before they even knew if their child was at risk for a diagnosis or not early on in the pregnancy. Following his or her first birthday, the child was assessed for early signs of the behavioral disorder based on the standardized Autism Observation Scale for Infants.

Researchers examined 450,000 different positions in each father's DNA sperm samples, comparing the presence or absence of certain genetic markers and lined them up with who had a child to early signs of autism.

Findings revealed 193 different markers for similarities in the fathers' DNA linked to their child. What was most important was that these same genes were the ones that were so intimately involved in the developmental process of a baby. In fact, certain genetic markers that connected a father's DNA to their child also showed early signs of autism that could be linked to Prader-Willi syndrome.

Both of the behavioral health problems carry similar symptoms, including mental, physical and behavioral signs that can be recognized early on in infancy, according to health officials. However, unique symptoms that seem to remain only to autism continue to be investigated today--some that may be related to both genetic and environmental influences.

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