Researchers from the University of Cambridge (Great Britain) and the State Serum Institute in Denmark have continued research begun in 2015 on the hormones present in amniotic fluid and their influence on the fetus. This time, they analyzed 275 samples of amniotic fluid from a Danish biobank to study the presence of estrogen. They found that the 98 children who later developed a autism spectrum disorder had been exposed to higher levels of estrogen in utero.
Hormones that interact with genetic factors
“This new finding supports the idea that an increase in prenatal sex steroid hormones is one potential cause of the condition. Genetics is another, and these hormones likely interact with genetic factors to affect fetal brain development. “said Professor Simon Baron-Cohen, lead author of the study published in the journal Molecular psychiatry.
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