A study by the University of California Davis MIND Institute was recently published in the journal Genome Medicine. They discovered that cord blood of newborn babies had a distinct DNA methylation signature or the addition of a methyl group (CH3) to the genome. Furthermore, the signature was traced in genes and DNA regions associated with early fetal neurodevelopment.
Professor Janine La Salle said that ASD has a specific DNA methylation signature "in cord blood with specific regions consistently differentially methylated. During the study, they also identified six epigenetic signatures that determine why ASD is more prevalent in males than females.
