27 JAN OSIJEK: LECTURE ON A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN CERTAIN DISEASES

In the first quarter of the 21st century, a significant increase in the incidence of certain diseases was observed, and among them neurodevelopmental disorders have an important place.

What are these diseases and why are they becoming more common? On this topic, the Osijek branch of the Croatian Catholic Medical Society organized a lecture at the Archdiocesan Vicariate in Osijek, on January 24, 2024. The main word was led by Prof. Prim. Dr. Sc. Silvija Pušeljić, MD, a specialist pediatrician, subspecialist in medical genetics and metabolic diseases. The title of the lecture read “What is new in understanding the rise of neurodevelopmental disorders; “From genetics to epigenetics?”

Professor Pušeljić described the basic characteristics of the main groups of neurodevelopmental disorders, namely diseases from the autism spectrum, ADHD and mental retardation. According to the literature, one of the main reasons for the increase in the incidence of these disorders are late age of parents and chronic diseases that affect the carrying of pregnancy and the development of the baby before birth. Given genetics, people’s understanding of their own genetic record is getting better. Every day there are more and more genes and processes described associated with the development of various diseases and conditions.

It is clear that the ever-older parental age allows the influence of various factors on the genetic material inherited by new generations. However, the professor pointed out that several dozen years are too little for, evolutionarily speaking, the genetic code to change so much that it increases the incidence of these disorders. For example, the incidence of autism from 2000 to 2020 increased by 317%, which cannot be explained simply by the change in the way and circumstances of diagnosing autism. The professor further explained to those present how changes in reading hereditary material under the influence of various factors can change at the hour and day level.

These are epigenetic changes, a kind of additions to hereditary material that affect which genes, how and when will be activated. The key is that these changes are hereditary. There is growing evidence that epigenetics plays a major role in the development of various diseases. Professor Pušeljić also commented on the negative impact of the artificial insemination procedure on (epi)genetic material.

One of the conclusions of the lecture is that various external stressors (e.g. smoking, diet, etc.), especially internal (e.g. anxiety), have clearly a great effect on our lives. They work today, and they affect tomorrow’s health of both us and our descendants.Ivan Školka, MDSecretary of the HKLD branch in Osijek