Autism signs in fish 'astonishing'

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http://news.uk.msn.com/health/autism-signs-in-fish-astonishing

Signs of autism have been found in fish swimming in water contaminated

with psychoactive medications.

Scientists identified patterns of gene activity in the fathead minnows

that mimicked those seen in susceptible humans with the developmental

disorder.

The findings suggest a potential environmental trigger for autism in

genetically vulnerable people, the study authors said.

Researchers from Idaho State University in the US exposed fish to the

antidepressant Prozac (fluoxetine) and two other chemicals. These were

venlafaxine, another antidepressant, and carbamazepine, used to control

seizures.

Concentrations were comparable with the highest estimated environmental

levels.

The genetic pathways affected were the same as those associated with

" idiopathic " autism spectrum disorders whose cause is unknown....

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Psychoactive Pharmaceuticals Induce Fish Gene Expression Profiles

Associated with Human Idiopathic Autism

<http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0032917>

Idiopathic autism, caused by genetic susceptibility interacting with

unknown environmental triggers, has increased dramatically in the past

25 years. Identifying environmental triggers has been difficult due to

poorly understood pathophysiology and subjective definitions of autism.

The use of antidepressants by pregnant women has been associated with

autism. These and other unmetabolized psychoactive pharmaceuticals

(UPPs) have also been found in drinking water from surface sources,

providing another possible exposure route and raising questions about

human health consequences. Here, we examined gene expression patterns of

fathead minnows treated with a mixture of three psychoactive

pharmaceuticals (fluoxetine, venlafaxine & carbamazepine) in dosages

intended to be similar to the highest observed conservative estimates of

environmental concentrations. We conducted microarray experiments

examining brain tissue of fish exposed to individual pharmaceuticals and

a mixture of all three. We used gene-class analysis to test for

enrichment of gene sets involved with ten human neurological disorders.

Only sets associated with idiopathic autism were unambiguously enriched.

We found that UPPs induce autism-like gene expression patterns in fish.

Our findings suggest a new potential trigger for idiopathic autism in

genetically susceptible individuals involving an overlooked source of

environmental contamination.