There are now compelling human epidemiological and animal experimental data that indicate the risk of developing adult-onset complex diseases and neurological disorders are influenced by persistent epigenetic adaptations in response to prenatal and early postnatal exposures to environmental factors. Epigenetics refers to heritable changes in gene function that occur without a change in the sequence of the DNA. The main components of the epigenetic code are DNA methylation, histone modifications, and non-coding RNAs. The epigenetic programs are established as stem cell differentiate during embryogenesis, and they are normally faithfully reproduced during mitosis. Moreover, they can also be maintained during meiosis, resulting in epigenetic transgenerational disease inheritance, and also potentially introducing phenotypic variation that is selected for in the evolution of new species. The objective of this two volume book is to provide evidence that environmental exposures during early development can alter the risk of developing medical conditions, such as asthma, autism, cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, and schizophrenia later in life by modifying the epigenome. Consequently, epigenetic research promises to markedly improve our ability to diagnosis, prevent, and treat the pathological conditions of humans; however, it also introduces unique legal and ethical issues. This volume highlights the correlation between environmental factors and complex diseases, such as autism, addiction, neurological diseases, diabetes, obesity and cancer. It concludes with a chapter on legal and ethical implications of epigenetics.

Preface

Epigenetic programming of the brain
Epigenetics and maternal brain evolution
Social environment and DNA methylation: A mechanism for linking nurture and nature
Sex differences in epigenetic programming of brain differentiation: Implications for mental health and disease
Epigenetics and neurological disorders.- Phenotypic plasticity, pleiotropy, and the growth-first theory of imprinting.- The imprinted brain: How genes set the balance between autism and psychosis
Epigenetics at the interface of genetics and environmental factors in autism
Epigenomic and non-coding RNA regulation in addictive processes
Epigenetic therapies in neurological diseases
Epigenetics, nutrition, diabetes, and obesity.- Nutrition, histone epigenetic marks, and disease
Chromatin switching and gene dynamics associated with type 2 diabetes
Developmental epigenetic programming in diabetes and obesity
Epigenetics and cancer
Developmental reprogramming by environmental estrogens: How early life exposures affect cancer risk in adulthood
Human cancer epigenetics
Epigenetics and the law
Legal and ethical implications of epigenetics
Subject index.