The Daily Telegraph - 29.08.2019

Babies born

by C-section

‘a third more

likely to

have autism’

By Laura Donnelly

HealtH editor

BABIES born by caesarean

are a third more likely to de-

velop autism, research into

20 million births has found.

The analysis of more than

60 studies found that chil-

dren who were delivered

this way were also a sixth

more likely to develop

ADHD (attention deficit hy-

peractivity disorder).

Experts said it was not

clear why the risks appeared

to be so high, regardless of

whether the caesarean sec-

tion was planned or carried

out in an emergency.

But they said it was possi-

ble that factors increasing

the chance of the operation

being carried out – such as a

mother being older, or a

baby being at risk of prema-

ture birth – might also ex-

plain the higher risk of

developmental disorders.

Exposure to antibiotics af-

ter the birth might also play

a part, scientists said.

The study, involving sci-

entists from the Karolinska

Institute in Sweden and a

number of Australian re-

searchers, examined 61 stud-

ies involving a total of

20.6 million births.

Prof Jeffrey Keelan, dep-

uty director of the women

and infants research founda-

tion at the University of

Western Australia, said the

study was “interesting and

well-performed”, but could

not adjust sufficiently for a

host of factors that might ex-

plain the link.

Other scientists said the

findings were “significantly

flawed” given that some of

the studies included in the

analysis had extremely high

rates of autism.

Estimates suggest around

1 per cent of the UK popula-

tion may be on the autism

spectrum.

Britain has some of the

highest rates of births by

caesarean section in West-

ern Europe, with 26.2 per

cent delivered this way,

compared with 19.7 per cent

in 2000.

The rise has been linked

by experts to the increasing

age of mothers, as well rising

obesity levels.

Andrew Shennan, profes-

sor of obstetrics at King’s

College London, said: “The

need for a caesarean is often

caused by problems that

could influence brain func-

tion, such as a poorly func-

tioning placenta. It is highly

unlikely the caesarean deliv-

ery itself is causal in these

mental health conditions,

from our current under-

standing of brain physiology

and the effect of a caesarean.

“Women should not be

alarmed by the need for a

caesarean, which is often

performed to reduce risk to

their baby.”

Dr Pat O’Brien, consultant

obstetrician and spokesman

for the Royal College of Ob-

stetricians and Gynaecolo-

gists, said: “A number of

underlying factors ... were

not accounted for.

“Therefore, the findings

of this paper do not show

that caesarean birth leads to

autism and ADHD.”

He backed the authors of

the report in calling for more

research to determine the

underlying causes of the as-

sociation.

“Women who have a cae-

sarean birth should be reas-

sured that it is a safe

procedure. In many cases, a

caesarean birth can be a life-

saving intervention, as well

as the right choice for

mother and baby,” he said.

Robotic thread could be

lifeline for stroke victims

By Henry Bodkin

Science correSpondent

A REMOTELY controlled

thread capable of snaking its

way through blood vessels

in the brain has been devel-

oped to prevent brain dam-

age in stroke victims.

The magnetic device can

be guided to break down

blood clots and deliver

drugs, scientists say.

Currently, surgeons man-

ually insert a wire through

the patient’s leg or groin and

guide it up to the brain – a

potentially dangerous pro-

cedure for which few sur-

geons are trained. It also

exposes the doctor to high

amounts of radiation from

the X-rays that map the

blood vessels for them.

The robotic thread can be

controlled via a computer

operated from behind a

screen, or from a different

location altogether. The de-

vice has been successfully

trialled by scientists at the

Massachusetts Institute of

Technology, according to

the Science Robotics journal.

No need for alarm,

say doctors, as the

delivery itself is not

thought to be cause

CMNH/MATT CROW

Meet MRD, the head

of the human family

By Sarah Knapton
Science editor

THE human family album
has gained a new portrait, af-
ter scientists discovered a
skull of our earliest ancestor
and reconstructed its face.
Australopithecus anamen-
sis (meaning southern ape of
the lake) is the oldest known
species of the human evolu-
tionary tree after it branched
away from ape-like crea-
tures around 4.2 million
years ago.
Until recently paleoan-
thropologists had only found
fragments of jaw, limb bones
and teeth, making it difficult
to know what it looked like.
However, in 2016, a “re-
markably complete” fossil
skull was found in the sedi-
ment of an ancient lake in
the Afar region of Ethiopia.
Now, after years of com-
parison with other fossils,
scientists have confirmed
that it belonged to Australo-
pithecus anamensis, and
have recreated the face of
the species for the first time.
Dr Stephanie Melillo, of

the Max Planck Institute for

Evolutionary Anthropology

in Germany, said: “It is good

to finally be able to put a face

to the name.”

The fossil skull – dubbed

MRD – dates from 3.8 million

years ago. It was dated using

minerals in layers of vol-

canic rocks nearby and

found to have canine teeth

much smaller than its ape-

like predecessors, and a

broader flatter face common

to later australopithecines.

It was found that the spe-

cies overlapped with Austra-

lopithecus afarensis by about

100,000 years, contradict-

ing the long-held belief that

anamensis evolved into afa-

rensis, thus rewriting the

human lineage.

“We used to think that A.

anamensis gradually turned

into A. afarensis over time,”

said Dr Melillo. “We still

think these two species had

an ancestor-descendent re-

lationship, but this discov-

ery suggests the two species

were actually living together

... for quite some time.”

Commenting in the jour-

nal Nature, where the re-

search was published, Dr

Fred Spoor, of London’s Nat-

ural History Museum, said:

“MRD is a great addition to

the fossil record of human

evolution. Its discovery will

substantially affect our

thinking on the origin of the

genus Australopithecus spe-

cifically, and on the evolu-

tionary family tree of early

hominins more broadly.”

A fossil skull found in Ethiopia

enabled the reconstruction

‘It is highly unlikely

the delivery is causal

in these mental

health conditions’

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