Pregnancy is an incredibly special and delicate time for all parents. In those early stages of development, the environment, both inside and outside the body, can drastically impact fetal and long-term health.
A recent study has identified a new area that can be influenced, diagnosed, and treated before birth: neuropsychiatric disorders.
The key to understanding the genetic risk of neuropsychiatric disorders is in the placenta. The international research team, composed of 28 researchers from across Europe and the U.S., has identified the placenta as playing an important role in neuropsychiatric development.
According to the study published in Nature Communications, particular modifications in the placenta can impact the expression of the genes associated with certain psychiatric disorders. This finding confirms that certain types of genetic risk can appear and be identified during the prenatal stage.
The psychiatric disorders most commonly linked to the environment of the placenta are schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, ...
