OK folks I have a Genetics Question…Who can tell me if one takes a prescribed drug of the amphetamine family, could they pass something onto their future children through prolonged use of said drug… WHOA !! WIPES FOREHEAD
Basically my cohort in crime…business partner, is trying to get pregnant with his wife (no one laugh please) and he takes Ritalin. Yes Yes he is an adult who takes ritalin. And he is worried that something may be passed on to his future offspring on the genetic level from taking the drug. Is this true? Could that actually happen?
Does anyone have the straight dope on this… I’d like to give him a least some good advice…
I don’t know that we have a specific answer for that yet. We do know there are genetic links for some addictive conditions. That is, if you have an alcoholic mother and father, you yourself have a higher probability of becoming one than would be expected by random statistics.
That said, whatever overstimulated/ understimulated gene is causing the hyperactivity requiring your friend to have to take Ritalin has some probability (possibly approaching 100% if he is homozygous and it is a single gene trait) of being passed on, meaning the kid may eventually need Ritalin too. As far as the tetrology of Ritalin (i.e. ability to cause birth defects) it is still unknown. I do know that Methylphenidate (Ritalin) does cause inhibition of growth hormone from the pituitary which might cause complications, but obviously, he should talk to his doctor about the real risks.
It sounds like this is more a question of Biology then Genetics. There are few things (as far as I know of) that will permanently modify the genes of the haploid cells that go towards making a new person. More likely is that there may be damage to the spermatazoa caused by what your ‘cohort in crime’ does.
Plugging various combinations of ritalin, methylphenidate, mutagen, teratogen into Google turns up a very low mutagenicity (http://ntp-server.niehs.nih.gov/htdocs/Chem_H&S/NTP_Chem2/Radian298-59-9.html) and only scattered reports of maybe some teratogenic effects. There’s nothing for anyone to get their shorts in a knot over.
In general the fairer sex has to worry more about passing on environmentally induced mutations to her offspring. This usually happens during the gestation period as the bundle of joy develops. This IS NOT to say that I am avering that there is no risk, but I really wouldn’t sweat it too much. The chances that your buddies haploid swimmers would be affected by this drug are not very high. However, biology doesn’t always make intuitive sense (see ‘rational drug design’). I am confident to say though that it is much more important for the mother to watch the chemicals that she puts into her body before and during the pregnancy.