"What Can Baby Teeth Tell Us About Autism and Heavy Metals?"
Autism is a complex, diverse developmental disorder, and there is still so much we don’t know about it. But in recent years, there have been incredible advancements. Research has linked autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to various biological, environmental, and genetic elements, as well as to prenatal exposure including certain prescription drugs. Now researchers from the Institute for Exposomic Research at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have unveiled a new milestone: They discovered a way to predict ASD by looking at baby teeth. The teeth show how babies and children metabolize metals, which are essential for neurodevelopment. And disruptions in these biological processes have linked to ASD. “Teeth are like biological hard drives that take a snapshot of what’s happening in the body every day,” said Christine Austin, PhD, an analytical chemist and postdoctoral fellow in the department of environmental medicine and public health at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. “We can use teeth to go back in time to measure early-life exposures to metals.” The analysis shows that the zinc and copper metabolic rhythms were disrupted in the children with ASD, says Dr. Austin, who led the baby teeth analysis in the study, along with Manish Arora, BDS, MPH, PhD, vice chairman of the department of environmental medicine and public health at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
- Christine E. Austin, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow, Environmental Medicine and Public Health, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
- Manish Arora, BDS, MPH, PhD, Edith J. Baerwald Professor, Vice Chairman, Department of Environmental Medicine and Public Health, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai