Epigenetics a Window on Gene Dysregulation, Disease. While the field of epigenetics is still in its infancy, scientists have already compiled compelling evidence for the role of epigenetics in cancer, and animal studies are providing provocative evidence that nutritional factors and other exposures at the earliest stages of development cause epigenetic changes that can increase the risk of disease later on ( Jirtle RL and Skinner MK. Nat Rev Genet. 2007;8[4]:253-262).
The Ghost in Your Genes. Researchers have now discovered that cancer can be triggered by epigenetic changes—modifications to mechanisms associated with DNA that alter gene expression without mutating the original DNA. These changes are like switches turning genes on and off. Some epigenetic effects turn on, or activate, genes that stimulate tumor growth; other effects turn off, or silence, genes that would normally suppress tumor growth. Since epigenetic changes do not alter the DNA sequence itself, they hold the promise of being chemically reversed with drug (and potentially nutritional) therapies. See also LINKS AND BOOKS for more info.
Also somebody has put the entire show on YouTube. Jump to the last part to see how environmental toxins, stress, smoking, alcohol effect gene expression for future generations! Jump to part 2 to see how methlylation affects gene expression, and how nutritional therapies (B12 and Folic acid) affect gene expression.
Los Angeles Times Archive: Genetic Link Between Autism and Vaccines The mercury preservative used in some vaccines can cause behavioral abnormalities in newborn mice characteristic of autism, but only in mice with a specific genetic susceptibility, Columbia University researchers report.
Discover Magazine, March 2007. Autism: It's Just Not in the Head. Meanwhile, on the sidelines of that confusing discussion, a disparate group—immunologists, naturopaths, neuroscientists, and toxicologists—is turning up clues that are yielding novel strategies to help autistic patients. New studies are examining contributing factors ranging from vaccine reactions to atypical growth in the placenta, abnormal tissue in the gut, inflamed tissue in the brain, food allergies, and disturbed brain wave synchrony. Some clinicians are using genetic test results to recommend unconventional nutritional therapies, and others employ drugs to fight viruses and quell inflammation...."We’re beginning to understand that genetics is really about vulnerability,” says neuroscientist Pat Levitt, director of the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center for Research on Human Development. Levitt and his colleagues recently discovered that a common variant of a gene called MET doubles the risk of autism. The finding was widely regarded as a breakthrough because MET modulates the nervous system, gut, and immune system—just the kind of finding that matches up with the emerging new view of autism.
NPR Story - Cause of Autism Narrowed Down to 100 Genes. A new study links autism to subtle changes in a wide range of genes. The finding, published in the journal Science, suggests that autism has many causes, and that whatever triggers autism usually occurs long before birth.