Higher Steroid Hormone Levels in Pregnancy Can Cause Autism in Children

Researchers exploring the causes of autism have linked higher levels of steroid hormones in the womb during early fetal development to autism spectrum disorder.

These hormones, which play a key phase in brain development at three to four months of pregnancy, may also explain why the condition is far more common among males than females, they said.

But it was too early to say whether higher hormone levels were a cause of autism, the team wrote, and cautioned against hormone screening or treatment based on their preliminary findings.

Scientists at the University of Cambridge in Britain and Denmark's Statens Serum Institute analyzed hormone levels among nearly 20,000 stored samples of amniotic fluid, which surrounds the fetus in the uterus.

The team measured levels of four "sex" steroid hormones -- testosterone, progesterone, 17-alpha-hydroxy-progesterone and androstenedione -- which are known to play a role in brain development.

They also looked at a fifth hormone, cortisol, which is a marker of stress.

The researchers found higher hormone levels in the amniotic fluid in 128 males who were later diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder.

All autistic subgroups were found to have the signature: Asperger syndrome, classic autism or a category called unspecified pervasive developmental disorder.

"This is one of the earliest non-genetic biomarkers that has been identified in children who go on to develop autism," said Simon Baron-Cohen, a University of Cambridge professor.

"We previously knew that elevated prenatal testosterone is associated with slower social and language development, better attention to detail and more autistic traits.

"Now, for the first time, we have also shown that these steroid hormones are elevated in children clinically diagnosed with autism. Because some of these hormones are produced in much higher quantities in males than in females, this may help us explain why autism is more common in males."

It was not known what causes the higher steroid levels in the first place, and the team cautioned against using the findings as a tool to screen for autism.

Nor should drugs be used to block steroid hormones.

"This could have unwanted side effects and may have little to no effect," said Baron-Cohen.

Only males were tested in the first phase of research. The next step will be to see if a similar telltale exists for females.

"Steroid hormones are particularly important because they exert influence on the process of how instructions in the genetic code are translated into building proteins," co-researcher Craig Brierley said in an email exchange with AFP.

The study appeared in the journal Molecular Psychiatry.

The cause of autism, a complex neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by social withdrawal, is considered to be roughly split between genetic and environmental factors, according to a study last month in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

Basics on hormone replacement therapy

As we grow older our testosterone levels start to slowly decline while estrogen levels increase, In some bodybuilders this process happens a lot sooner than others because of the continuation of attacking your HPTA, Continually shutting your system down for weeks on end then trying to recover it isnt an ideal approach, over time this will effect your own natural production of test, In many cases the damage occurs to your HPTA and there is only one option which comes a lot sooner in life than it should - HRT.

With hormone replacement therapy we try to balance our sex hormones; testosterone, estrogen and progesterone to the same levels that they were at in our mid- twenties, symptoms of lower than normal test are; muscle loss,fat gain, gyno,depression,anger, low libido, erection problems,testicle shrinkage,energy level,low self esteem, irritability, unusual sleeping pattern and relationship problems, in fact every part of your life is effected and the day to day living becomes a toil.

First, blood tests need to be done to establish how your T- levels and some medical and lifestyle background will determine why your sex hormones are out of balance. A blood test needs to find the levels of your free and total testosterone, estradiol, total estrogens , LH, IGF-1, prolaction, DHEA, and several other hormones,

The blood test will determine what type of treatment is needed for balancing the hormones best, not all people should go straight on testosterone replacement therapy, with Andropause (male menopause) our body's go through a slow process where free testosterone levels slowly start to decline, if you were to go straight onto testosterone replacement it could potentially shut down your HPTA fully when it was still producing a certain amount, careful planning will help find which treatment is best for your individual problem. Bodybuilders who go straight onto test replacement may find that they need to stay on it for the rest of their life so sometimes other methods might suit the person better.

When the testes fail to produce Test and men have primary hypogonadism or hypogonadotropic hypognadism Test replacement is the answer, there are a few methods what could solve the problem but knowing the risks what come with each treatment will help to understand the benefits to risk ratio. We produce around 4-7mg of Test per day in a circular pattern with Max levels attained in the early morning and min levels in the evening. Mimicking and stabilizing these levels would be the best approach for treatment.

The best course of treatment would be a therapy what maintains serum concentrations of the hormone without giving significant side effects. many different treatments are available including injectables, tablets and transdermal systems. Within bodybuilding world many go with injection. Estered forms of Test are commonly used with injection of 200-300mg every 14 days (long esters) or shorter ester's can be used but frequent injection normally put a lot of BB's off.

Normally these injection will be good enough to produce enough serum Test levels, many need to adjust the dose or frequency to suit but with more mg comes more possible sides so be careful. Constant monitoring of Test levels to make sure they are in the normal ranges is needed, also men over 40yrs old should have their prostate check on a regular basis. Other sides of such treatment may be lipid abnormalities (reduce HDL,LDL & elevation in blood viscosityl), polycythemia,sleep apnoea, and prostate changes.

In many cases when treatment is implemented sides of andropause will stopped. many will feel a new person and a feeling of well being beholds them. There are positive changes in body composition to more lean mass and decrease BF.

Bodybuilders who are constantly shutting down the HPTA and using steroids over many years have a great potential of damaging their own systems. I've seen so many young guys who are on HRT due to steroids, please think very carefully because what you may do now at this stage could effect your in later life or even sooner. Because we use such higher than normal dosages of Test we get accustomed to the great feeling it produces and when we come off many suffer. I've not known one long term bodybuilder not suffer some of the sides mentioned in this thread. If steroids is the direction your going to achieve your goals makes sure you do it as healthy as possible, spend as little as possible on cycle to achieve your goals and try and keep shutdown to a minimum time. Remember it easier to recover from a short shutdown than it is longer ones.