研究:子宮中雌激素水平升高與自閉癥有關

研究:子宮中雌激素水平升高與自閉癥有關

In utero sex hormone quantities could help predict if a child has autism or not, a new study finds.

一項新的研究發(fā)現，子宮內性激素的數量可以幫助預測孩子是否患有自閉癥。

“Fetal Estrogens and Autism,” published Monday in the journal Molecular Psychiatry, has discovered a link between estrogen levels and a child’s likelihood to develop autism.

周一發(fā)表在《分子精神病學》(Molecular Psychiatry)雜志上的《胎兒雌激素與自閉癥》(rogens and Autism)發(fā)現，雌激素水平與兒童患自閉癥的可能性存在關聯。

Scientists at the University of Cambridge and Denmark’s State Serum Institute analyzed amniotic fluid samples from 98 mom’s whose fetuses later developed autism. The samples — sourced from the Danish Biobank — had previously been studied by the same group of scientists, when they measured the levels of four prenatal steroid hormones in 2015.

劍橋大學和丹麥國家血清研究所的科學家分析了98名母親的羊水樣本，這些母親的胎兒后來患上了自閉癥。這些樣本來自丹麥生物銀行(Danish Biobank)，此前曾由同一組科學家研究過，他們在2015年測量了四種產前類固醇激素的水平。

In the 2015 study, the scientists found the hormones were higher in male fetuses who later developed autism. This, in addition to the fact that male fetuses are known to produce more androgens (male-trait inducing hormones) helps explain why autism is more common in males, researchers say.

在2015年的研究中，科學家們發(fā)現，后來患上自閉癥的男性胎兒體內的激素水平更高。研究人員說，除了男性胎兒會產生更多的雄激素(男性特征誘導激素)這一事實之外，這也有助于解釋為什么自閉癥在男性中更常見。

In the recent study, scientists found that high levels of prenatal estrogens — which includes testosterone — were an even better indicator of autism.

在最近的研究中，科學家們發(fā)現，產前高水平的雌激素——包括睪酮——是自閉癥更好的指標。

“This new finding supports the idea that increased prenatal sex steroid hormones are one of the potential causes for the condition,” says lead study author Simon Baron-Cohen, director of Cambridge’s Autism Research Centre. “Genetics is well established as another, and these hormones likely interact with genetic factors to affect the developing fetal brain.”

該研究的主要作者、劍橋大學自閉癥研究中心主任西蒙•巴隆-科恩說：“這一新發(fā)現支持了一種觀點，即產前性類固醇激素的增加是導致這種情況的潛在原因之一。遺傳學是另一個很好的基礎，這些激素可能與遺傳因素相互作用，影響胎兒大腦的發(fā)育。”

The source of the increased hormone levels is not yet clear — but scientists hope to determine its origin with future research studies.

激素水平升高的原因尚不清楚，但科學家希望通過未來的研究來確定其來源。

“These elevated hormones could be coming from the mother, the baby or the placenta, says Cambridge PhD student and study co-author Alex Tsompanidis. “Our next step should be to study all these possible sources and how they interact during pregnancy.”

劍橋博士生和研究合著者亞歷克斯·茨莫帕尼迪斯說：“這些激素升高可能來自母親、嬰兒或胎盤。”“我們的下一步，應該是研究所有這些可能的來源，以及它們在懷孕期間是如何相互作用的。”

Scientists say future research should also look at how the study’s findings apply to female fetuses.

科學家說，未來的研究也應該看看這項研究的發(fā)現如何應用于女性胎兒。

“This finding is exciting because the role of estrogens in autism has hardly been studied, and we hope that we can learn more about how they contribute to fetal brain development in further experiments,” says Cambridge researcher Dr. Alexa Pohl. “We still need to see whether the same result holds true in autistic females.”

劍橋大學的研究人員Alexa Pohl博士說：“這一發(fā)現令人興奮，因為雌激素在自閉癥中的作用幾乎沒有被研究過，我們希望我們能在進一步的實驗中，了解到雌激素是如何促進胎兒大腦發(fā)育的。”“我們仍然需要看看自閉癥女性是否也有同樣的結果。”

The findings cannot yet be used to screen for autism, researchers stress: Their answers are only intended and applicable to better understanding the disorder.

研究人員強調，這些發(fā)現還不能用來篩選自閉癥患者：他們的答案只是為了更好地理解這種障礙。

“We are interested in understanding autism, not preventing it,” says Baron-Cohen.

“我們感興趣的是理解自閉癥，而不是預防它，”Baron Cohen說。