Study Ties Autism Risk to Creases in Placenta

[alp227]

After most pregnancies, the placenta is thrown out, having done its job of nourishing and supporting the developing baby.

But a new study raises the possibility that analyzing the placenta after birth may provide clues to a child’s risk for developing autism. The study, which analyzed placentas from 217 births, found that in families at high genetic risk for having an autistic child, placentas were significantly more likely to have abnormal folds and creases.

“It’s quite stark,” said Dr. Cheryl K. Walker, an obstetrician-gynecologist at the Mind Institute at the University of California, Davis, and a co-author of the study, published in the journal Biological Psychiatry. “Placentas from babies at risk for autism, clearly there’s something quite different about them.”

Researchers will not know until at least next year how many of the children, who are between 2 and 5, whose placentas were studied will be found to have autism. Experts said, however, that if researchers find that children with autism had more placental folds, called trophoblast inclusions, visible after birth, the condition could become an early indicator or biomarker for babies at high risk for the disorder.

full: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/25/health/study-ties-autism-risk-to-creases-in-placenta.html

[Warpy]

1. Interesting. I knew there were also cord abnormalities.

If this pans out, if there is a strong correlation, then earlier diagnosis will mean earlier treatment for at risk children, decreasing long term disability.

Wakefield, of course, will continue to howl about the MMR.