02/10/2024
Cannabis Use During Pregnancy Associated With Genetic Changes in Baby Brains
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Exposure to cannabis while pregnant has been linked with a number of genetic changes in the newborn, supporting speculations a mother's use of the drug could adversely affect their child's ongoing neurodevelopment.
The international team of researchers behind the study found that prenatal cannabis exposure (PCE) was associated with alterations in genetic expression in newborns which persisted into their adult life. These epigenetic changes affected more than half a dozen genes related to the growth of nervous pathways at different points in development.