Why is autism, schizophrenia or bipolar caused by having an older father?

George Bartzokis,M.D.


Visiting Professor

Laboratory of Neuro Imaging,
Department of Neurology, UCLA School of Medicine
635 Charles Young Drive South, Suite 225
Los Angeles, CA 90095-7332



Education

1975-1979, BA Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
1979-1983, MD Yale Medical School, New Haven, CT
1983-1984, Internship, UCLA/WLA VA, Los Angeles, CA
1984-1987, Psychiatry Residency, UCLA NPI, Los Angeles, CA
1987-1990, Schizophrenia Research Fellow, UCLA Dept of Psychology, Los Angeles, CA


Research

Development of brain imaging biomarkers for use in diagnosis of neuropsychiatric disorders and medication development
Assessing brain maturation and degeneration trajectories over the life-span in normal populations and how neuropsychiatric disorders interact with these processes


Projects

Myelin breakdown in aging and Alzheimer's disease
In vivo quantification of age-related increases in brain iron levels
Evaluation of brain maturational trajectories in normal adults and patientss with neuropsychiatrc diseases


Skills

Quantification of brain iron levels
Quantification of limbic structures volumes
Quantification of brain myelination
Quantification of myelin integrity
Clinical trials
Administration of multidisciplinary teams


Honors

U.S. Patent, Method for Quantitatively Measuring Stored Iron in Tissue Using MRI










This quote is not from a published paper.
I had asked Dr. Bartzokis why risk of non-familial autism, schizophrenia, MS, and Alzheimer's risk increases with the age of the father at a person's birth.



"The issue is that the older man will have sperm that has undergone more divisions and therefore had more chances to have mutations.
The COMPLEXITY of the myelination process makes it more vulnerable to mutations. I am not talking of one specific mutation. Many things could MANIFEST in the myelination or myelin breakdown process because it is so vulnerable - something going slightly wrong will impact it while it will not impact bone growth or the heart. A good example is ApoE4 - whatever else it may affect, it manifests in the reduced capacity of myelin repair and earlier onset of AD."
Labels: I am not talking about a specific mutation, the complexity