A step further in understanding Autism

There are two new studies of autism that may change the understanding of the disease. In two new studies, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and copy number variations (CNVs) have been found to be associated with the disease. These genetic variations were found in genes encoding two types of cellular proteins - cadherins and neurexin. This suggests an importance of neuronal cell adhesion in autism.

The Nature Reviews Genetics article requires free registration to read the synopsis, the actual articles linked at the bottom of the article may require a subscription. Now is a time when I would push open access because there are a number of people who should be able to read and understand these findings, as autism is one of the least understood disorders despite its prevalence. And the myths of its etiology need to be altered to include the truth as its discovered.

Another recent finding was the increased size of the amygdala in toddlers with autism. A 13% size difference in the portion of the brain that processes emotions and faces.

Steps forward to understanding the etiology of the disease and possibly facilitate early intervention.

Chelating agents to treat autism?

A potential study is under ethics review that would test chelating agents on children with autism. The reasoning is that the agents will remove mercury and prevent autism, because some parents are convinced that mercury in vaccines causes autism. This, by the way, has been discredited by much research, and most children have no heavy metal detected in their blood. But what are these "chelating agents"? And why would they even be considered? Well, chelating agents are compounds that bind to other elements - such as calcium, magnesium, mercury, iron - and help the body remove them. The chemical that would be studied, DMSA, is used to treat individuals with heavy metal poisoning. They want to test it in autistic children that have detectable levels of mercury in their blood. The problem though is that this could expose them to medical problems with no medical gain. The level in their blood is not even near the levels of poisoning. I would also like to add that fish, such as tuna, have high levels of mercury. Current environmental laws in the United States are a rollback of previous allowances so there is more now than previously. Pregnant women should limit their consumption. Also, mercury-based preservatives have been removed from pediatric vaccines. Any mercury that children have in their system now is due to environmental exposure, not vaccines. There is also no known neurological mechanism for mercury to cause Autism. So would chelating agents be worth researching - I don't think so. It is wasting time on a mechanism already shown to be uninvolved and it could make the kids more ill.

Is Autism due to maternal autoimmunity?

I was reading an interesting article at The Scientist today. Autism may have been induced in monkeys by exposing them to certain antibodies in utero.

The idea was that certain autoimmune diseases may produce antibodies in the mother that, rather than protecting the fetus, attack the growing fetal brain. Pregnant rhesus monkeys injected with the antibodies found in ASD mothers (mothers of autistic children) had normal pregnancies and normal babies. But shortly after weaning they exhibited notable social and cognitive changes. Whether this is the rhesus version of autism needs to be confirmed.

But is it possible that Judy Van der Water at the University of California, Davis happened upon the basis for the spectrum disorders? I think it is.

Autism is more complicated than this

This is a waste of taxpayers money and the judicial system's time. Families argue autism-vaccine link in special U.S. court. Billions of dollars have been collected in excise taxes on vaccine doses, which should be removed to make the cost of vaccination less. No research has indicated that mercury is deposited in the brain by vaccines and no neurophysiological mechanisms have associated vaccines with autism. The link just isn't there. There is, however, a hereditary link with autism. I'm sorry, but these families need to admit that there's something more complex going on than a vaccine conspiracy. Like most things I urge moderation. Not everything should be vaccinated against. But now we're seeing a resurgence of deadly diseases we once had beat because of the lack of vaccination being promoted by those who keep arguing with the evidence. And currently, vaccines don't even contain the mercury-based preservative thimerasol that's under fire. And removing it did not decrease the rate of autism diagnosis, neither has a decreased vaccine compliance rate. Autism is a complex neurological disorder, that might not even be abnormal. It is deviant from what we define as normal. In recent years the definition and diagnosis has been expanded to include a spectrum of disorders that some doctors argue are not a disorder at all. However, there are many children and adults who live with a debilitating neurological condition. Court battles like this won't help. Money being diverted to real research on the matter and concentrating on giving their children a normal life will.