{"id":14358,"date":"2022-01-03T15:25:50","date_gmt":"2022-01-03T20:25:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/last-drum.flywheelsites.com\/?p=14358"},"modified":"2024-04-28T17:42:06","modified_gmt":"2024-04-28T22:42:06","slug":"study-hints-at-association-between-maternal-exposure-to-flame-retardant-chemicals-and-asd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/autism.org\/study-hints-at-association-between-maternal-exposure-to-flame-retardant-chemicals-and-asd\/","title":{"rendered":"Study hints at association between maternal exposure to flame retardant chemicals and ASD"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/div>
<\/div>
<\/div>

A new animal study suggests that maternal exposure to a class of fire-retardant chemicals called polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) may play a role in autism spectrum disorders (ASD).<\/p>\n

Elena Kozlova and colleagues exposed mice orally to PBDEs during pregnancy and nursing, and later found that female offspring
\nexhibited exaggerated marble-burying behavior\u2014a behavior considered to be similar to the repetitive behaviors seen in ASD\u2014 as well as deficits in short-term social recognition and long-term social memory.<\/p>\n<\/div>

\"testing<\/span><\/div><\/div>
<\/div>
<\/div>
<\/div>

One finding, study coauthor Margarita Curras-Collazo says, was that \u201cthe female offspring of mother mice exposed to PBDEs showed olfactory deficits that dampened their ability to recognize other mice. In effect, these offspring do not distinguish new mice from familiar ones.\u201d The researchers note that children with ASD also exhibit abnormalities in olfactory processing, such as impairments in detecting and identifying odors or unusual reactions to them.<\/p>\n

In addition, the researchers found alterations in the expression of oxytocin and vasopressin, two hormones that affect social information processing and social cognition, in specific areas of the brain. This suggests, they say, that PBDEs target distinct brain systems, resulting in neurodevelopmental abnormalities.<\/p>\n

The researchers conclude, \u201cOur work demonstrates that developmental PBDE exposure produces ASD-relevant neurochemical, olfactory processing, and behavioral phenotypes that may result from early neurodevelopmental reprogramming within central social and memory networks.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014<\/p>\n

\u201cPersistent autism-relevant behavioral phenotype and social neuropeptide alterations in female mice offspring induced by maternal transfer of PBDE congeners in the commercial mixture DE-71,\u201d Elena V. Kozlova, Matthew C. Valdez, Maximillian E. Denys, Anthony E. Bishay, Julia M. Krum, Kayhon M. Rabbani, Valeria Carrillo, Gwendolyn M. Gonzalez, Gregory Lampel, Jasmin D.Tran, Brigitte M. Vazquez, Laura M.Anchondo, Syed A. Uddin, Nicole M. Huffman, Eduardo Monarrez, Duraan S. Olomi, Bhuvaneswari D. Chinthirla, Richard E. Hartman, Prasada Rao S. Kodavanti, Gladys Chompre, Allison L. Phillips, Heather M. Stapleton, Bernhard Henkelmann, Karl Werner Schramm, and Margarita C. Curras-Collazo, Archives of Toxicology, October 23, 2021 (free online). Address: Margarita C. Curras-Collazo, mcur@ucr.edu.<\/p>\n

\u2014and\u2014<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cStudy shows flame retardants cause brain changes in mice offspring,\u201d news release, University of California Riverside, November 5, 2021<\/p>\n

This article originally appeared in Autism Research Review International, <\/em><\/a>Vol. 35, No. 4, 2021<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>

<\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n
<\/div>
<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n
<\/div>
<\/div>
<\/div>