Synopses & Reviews
This volume joins together research from various disciplines and
demonstrates interrelated and common themes that can direct current and future multidisciplinary research and clinical care. Of value to practitioners and researchers in the areas of pediatric neurology, obstetrics and gynecology, fetal physiology, neuroscience, genetics, developmental medicine, perinatology, toxicology and developmental psychology, as well as medical students, Maternal Influences on Fetal Neurodevelopment: Clinical and Research Aspects discusses a wide range of issues impacting several neurodevelopmental disorders. These include ADHD, autism, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
The altered developmental cell programs that lead to these disorders of function are established during fetal life. Historically, these disorders have been individually classified and studied, and much of the research involved has focused on genetics and treatment, rather than mechanisms and causes. Thus, after several decades of sound scientific research, there are no recommendations for prevention and no known biological markers for medical diagnoses. Maternal Influences on Fetal Neurodevelopment: Clinical and Research Aspects provides a first step in elucidating the common themes that impact prevention, treatment and research issues surrounding fetal neurodevelopment.
Research has shown that these neurodevelopmental disorders tend to cluster in families. In addition, relatives of people with these diagnoses often exhibit traits that are similar to those of the affected family members, but are milder and not disabling. Thus, genetic susceptibility obviously contributes to causing neurodevelopmental disorders, though despite good research, the genes involved have been difficult to isolate.
Recent studies suggest that the fetal environment is the staging ground for these neurodevelopmental disorders and that they result from genetic susceptibility that may be modified by environmental influences during prenatal life. It is likely that a broad range of environmental factors, both intra- and extrauterine, affect cell programming in a genetically susceptible fetus, and result in abnormal brain function, but not form. These environmental factors may not only be external to the mother, such as toxins or drugs to which she might be exposed, but also maternal factors that have the potential to modify the intrauterine environment. These factors may include fluctuations in the pregnant mothera (TM)s thyroid or stress hormones, and circulating immune chemicals or cytokines produced in response to infection, among others.
The study of maternal influences on the intrauterine environment as they relate to the developing fetal brain promises to be an important area of study in the future. This genre of research, though starting to expand, represents a relatively new way of approaching the causes of neurodevelopmental disorders. This specific area of study may make it possible to delineate the prenatal mechanisms that affect ongoing cell programming in the fetus and lead to neurodevelopmental disorders. In this way the investigation of factors affecting the intrauterine environment is important for diagnosis and prevention as well as later clinical care and treatment.
Note: The Fetal Physiology Foundation is a federally registered non-profit organization, founded in 2003 to address the fetal origins of neurodevelopmental disorders that do not have a clear genetic cause. The goal in establishing this foundation was to support a research hypothesis proposing that the cause of a neruodevelopmental disorder might not be singular or genetic but complex and involving multiple influences. This approach to the causes of neurodevelopmental disorders cannot be fully explored in one or even several studies and is not the focus of any other research organization. The mission of the FPF is to help prevent neurodevelopmental disorders by supporting scientific research into their prenatal origins.
Review
From the reviews: "This interesting book examines an extremely pertinent topic in obstetrics, the gene-environment interplay and its effects on the developing human brain. ... Clearly the authors have done a good job of reviewing relevant literature as well as provoking new ideas. ... The audience includes clinicians and scientists interested in the fetal origin of disease. ... this is an interesting book about a worthwhile topic in obstetrics. ... it is a worthwhile contribution to the field." (Anthony Shanks, Doody's Review Service, December, 2010)
Synopsis
Novel Approaches into the Origins of Neurodevelopmental Disorders: The Fetal Physiology Foundation Over the past two decades, autism, a neurodevelopmental disorder that is defined by behavior and was once believed to be rare, became recognized in increasing numbers of children and recently received distinction as an epidemic 1]. While numbers of affected children have steadily increased, our knowledge is still ins- ficient to explain autism s diverse causes and broad range of presentations. Despite remarkable progress in research, available medical diagnostic testing applies only to a small minority of affected children. Thus, scientifically based explanations with which physicians can diagnose and treat the majority of children with autism and advise their parents are quite limited. Our society and scientific community were unprepared for the rise in autism, which explains our present inability to understand most of its causes. Researchers in neurodevelopmental disorders have long been aware of other disorders that, despite extensive efforts, have not yielded clear genetic or environmental origins, and autism has become symbolic of the need for new approaches to research into these complex conditions. Although autism has captured our attention in recent years, the prevalence of other neurodevelopmental disorders such as attention de- cit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and bipolar disorder, among others, also has been increasing 2 4]."
Synopsis
The study of maternal influences on the intrauterine environment as they relate to the developing fetal brain promises to be an important area of study. Findings in this area may make it possible to delineate the prenatal mechanisms that affect ongoing cell programming in the fetus and lead to neurodevelopmental disorders. Maternal Influences on Fetal Neurodevelopment: Clinical and Research Aspects advances the field by discussing a wide range of issues impacting several neurodevelopmental disorders. These include ADHD, autism, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Of value to practitioners and researchers in the areas of pediatric neurology, obstetrics and gynecology, fetal physiology, neuroscience, genetics, developmental medicine, perinatology, toxicology and developmental psychology, Maternal Influences on Fetal Neurodevelopment: Clinical and Research Aspects joins together research from various disciplines and demonstrates interrelated and common themes that can direct current and future multidisciplinary research and clinical care.
Synopsis
This volume discusses many issues regarding neurodevelopmental disorders including ADHD, autism, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and OCD. It explores common themes in prevention, treatment, and research issues surrounding fetal neurodevelopment.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Brave New World: The Intrauterine Environment as the Biological Foundation for the Lifespan.......Tonse N. K. Raju Chapter 2: In the Beginning.......Janet A. DiPietro Chapter 3: Maternal Influences on the Developing Fetus.......Janet A. DiPietro Chapter 4: Implications of Maternal Programming for Fetal Neurodevelopment......Laura M. Glynn Chapter 5: Maternal Thyroid Function during Pregnancy: Effects on the Developing Fetal Brain.......Joanne F. Rovet and Karen Willoughby Chapter 6: Obstetric Factors Related to Perinatal Brain Injury.......Christopher S. Ennen and Ernest M. Graham Chapter 7: Activation of the Maternal Immune System as a Risk Factor for Neuropsychiatric Disorders.......Stephen E. P. Smith, Elaine Hsiao and Paul H Patterson Chapter 8: Prenatal Infections and Schizophrenia in Later Life--Focus on Toxoplasma gondii.......Robert Yolken and E. Fuller Torrey Chapter 9: Maternally Acting Alleles In Autism and Other Neurodevelopmental Disorders: The Role of HLA-DR4 within the Major Histocompatibility Complex.......William G. Johnson, Steven Buyske, Edward S. Stenroos and George H. Lambert