There are now compelling human epidemiological and animal experimental
data that indicate the risk of developing adult-onset complex diseases
and neurological disorders are influenced by persistent epigenetic
adaptations in response to prenatal and early postnatal exposures to
environmental factors. Epigenetics refers to heritable changes in gene
function that occur without a change in the sequence of the DNA. The
main components of the epigenetic code are DNA methylation, histone
modifications, and non-coding RNAs. The epigenetic programs are
established as stem cell differentiate during embryogenesis, and they
are normally faithfully reproduced during mitosis. Moreover, they can
also be maintained during meiosis, resulting in epigenetic
transgenerational disease inheritance, and also potentially introducing
phenotypic variation that is selected for in the evolution of new
species. The objective of this two volume book is to provide evidence
that environmental exposures during early development can alter the risk
of developing medical conditions, such as asthma, autism, cancer,
cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, and schizophrenia later in
life by modifying the epigenome. Consequently, epigenetic research
promises to markedly improve our ability to diagnosis, prevent, and
treat the pathological conditions of humans; however, it also introduces
unique legal and ethical issues. This volume highlights the correlation
between environmental factors and complex diseases, such as autism,
addiction, neurological diseases, diabetes, obesity and cancer. It
concludes with a chapter on legal and ethical implications of
epigenetics.
