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Genetic Mechanism Behind Schizophrenia In Children Of Older Fathers Identified
Compared to the offspring of fathers in their early twenties, the offspring of fathers aged 50 years or above have a two-fold increased risk of these neurodevelopmental disorders.
In their mice experiments to understand the risk better, researchers with the Queensland Brain Institute (QBI) used genome-wide microarray screening technology to compare the offspring of 3 month old male mice with those fathered by less sprightly 14-16 month old sires.
They found that mice fathered by older dads had an increased number of new copy number variants (CNVs) in their DNA.
While some genetic changes involve only one letter' of the genetic code, CNVs can delete or repeat whole paragraphs' of genetic code.
These results offered the first experimental demonstration that the offspring of older males have an increased risk of de novo (new) CNVs, according to QBI Professor John McGrath, who conducted the research with Professor Emma Whitelaw (Queensland Institute of Medical Research), and QBI's Claire Foldi and Traute Flatscher-Bader.
While we've known for some time that the children of older fathers are more likely to develop schizophrenia or autism, this study provides the first evidence of the biological mechanism that may be responsible, he explains.
Schizophrenia affects about one in a hundred Australian adults, while autism affects about one in two hundred children.
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