Epigenetic changes caused by the Holocaust (Introduction)

by David Turell , Thursday, February 19, 2015, 14:00 (3347 days ago)

New studies of survivors and their descendants show changes in hormone and enzyme levels:-http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/descendants-of-holocaust-survivors-have-altered-stress-hormones/?WT.mc_id=SA_MB_20150218-"Most recently, a new study looked at the descendants of the Holocaust survivors. Like their parents, many have low levels of cortisol, particularly if their mothers had PTSD. Yet unlike their parents, they have higher than normal levels of the cortisol-busting enzyme. Yehuda and her colleagues theorize that this adaptation happened in utero. The enzyme is usually present in high levels in the placenta to protect the fetus from the mother's circulating cortisol. If pregnant survivors had low levels of the enzyme in the placenta, a greater amount of cortisol could make its way to the fetus, which would then develop high levels of the enzyme to protect itself."