Autism Information

Sunday, December 28, 2008

A Father's Age Is Associated With Decreased Social Abilities In Boys


New studies from Tel Aviv University suggest that waiting until a man can give his son "all the advantages" may have a disadvantage, too.

Tel Aviv University researchers found in several consecutive studies that older dads are more likely to have boys with autism and lower IQs. Most recently, they found that the older a father's age, the greater the chance that his son will display poor social abilities as a teen. Dr. Mark Weiser from TAU's Sackler School of Medicine and his team of researchers are now studying what causes this phenomenon.

"There is a growing body of data showing that an advanced age of parents puts their kids at risk for various illnesses," says Dr. Weiser. "Some illnesses, such as schizophrenia, appear to be more common the older parents get. Doctors and psychologists are fascinated by this, but don't really understand it. We want to know how it works."

Thursday, December 25, 2008

Autism And Schizophrenia Share Common Origin

Schizophrenia and autism probably share a common origin, hypothesises Dutch researcher Annemie Ploeger following an extensive literature study. The developmental psychologist demonstrated that both mental diseases have similar physical abnormalities which are formed during the first month of pregnancy.

Peculiar toes

Developmental psychologist Annemie Ploeger has investigated whether there is a connection between disorders in the first month of pregnancy and the development of schizophrenia and autism. Interestingly, many physical abnormalities of autistics are also prevalent in schizophrenics. For example, both autistics and schizophrenics sometimes have protruding ears and peculiar toes. There are also differences: a large head and intestinal problems, for example, are typical traits occurring in autistics. From this, Ploeger concluded that the two disorders share a common origin. The same error that occurs very early in pregnancy develops into autism in one individual and schizophrenia in another.

Early vulnerability

Ploeger's research reveals that in the period between 20 and 40 days after fertilisation, the embryo is highly susceptible to disruptions. In this period, early organogenesis, there is a lot of interaction between the different parts of the body. If something goes wrong with a given part of the body, it greatly influences the development of other parts of the body. As people with schizophrenia and autism frequently have physical abnormalities to body parts formed during early organogenesis, Ploeger concluded that the foundation for these psychiatric disorders is laid very early during pregnancy.

The existence of a relationship between unhealthy behaviour during pregnancy and the subsequent development of schizophrenia and autism in the child was already known. However, Ploeger's hypothesis that the early organogenesis stage is the most critical, is new. Ploeger bases her hypothesis on an extensive study of scientific literature in this area. She often had to make use of related studies; although a lot of research has been done into prenatal influences on the development of schizophrenia and autism, little is known about the influence that the period between 20 to 40 days after fertilisation has.

Toxic pregnancy medicine

For example, she acquired information about autism from a study into softenon use. Softenon is a drug against morning sickness that was administered to women in the 1960s and 1970s. Later it was discovered that severely disabled children were born as a result of this medicine. Autistic children were born in four percent of pregnancies in which softenon was used, whereas normally this figure is 0.1 percent. Women could state exactly when they started to take softenon. The women who had taken softenon between the 20th and 24th day of the pregnancy had the greatest chance of giving birth to an autistic child.

Ploeger advises women to stop risky behaviour such as smoking, medicine use and stressful activities before they even become pregnant. If you only start to live healthily once you know that you are pregnant, the basis for a disrupted development of your child could already have been laid.

Monday, December 22, 2008

Decreased Levels Of Binding Gene Affect Memory And Behavior

Reducing the activity of a gene called FKBP12 in the brains of mice affected neuron-to-neuron communication (synapse) and increased both fearful memory and obsessive behavior, indicating the gene could provide a target for drugs to treat diseases such as autism spectrum disorder, obsessive-compulsive disease and others.

The protein FKBP12 regulates several important cell signaling pathways, and decreasing its activity enhances long-term potentiation in the hippocampus, said Dr. Susan Hamilton, chair of molecular physiology and biophysics at BCM and a senior author of the report. (Long-term potentiation means the enhancement of the synapse or communication between neurons.)

It accomplishes this by fine-tuning a particular pathway called mTOR signaling (mammalian target of rapamycin). The mice in whose brains the activity of the gene was reduced had longer memories and were more likely to exhibit repetitive behaviors than normal mice.

"These studies may offer insight into the molecular underpinnings of repetitive behaviors such as those seen in autism spectrum disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, schizophrenia and other neurodegenerative disorders," said Hamilton. "Because these studies involved interrupting the mTOR signaling after birth, they challenge the idea that some aspects of these conditions are developmentally predetermined."

Autistic spectrum

The autistic spectrum (sometimes referred to as the autism spectrum) is a developmental and behavioral syndrome that results from certain combinations of characteristically autistic traits.

Although these traits may be normally distributed in the population, some individuals inherit or otherwise manifest more autistic traits.

At the severe end of the spectrum is low-functioning autism which has profound impairments in many areas, to Asperger's syndrome and high-functioning autism, to "normal" behaviour and perhaps hypersocialization on the high end of the spectrum..

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Autism and Schizophrenia Share Origin

A Dutch researcher said that the same error that occurs very early in pregnancy develops into autism in one individual and schizophrenia in another.

Developmental psychologist Annemie Ploeger, a doctoral student at the University of Amsterdam, said she demonstrated that both mental diseases have similar physical abnormalities which are formed during the first month of pregnancy.

Ploeger's review of research reveals that in the period between 20 and 40 days after fertilization, the embryo is highly susceptible to disruptions. During this period, there is a lot of interaction between the different parts of the body. If something goes wrong with a given part of the body, it greatly influences the development of other parts of the body.

People with schizophrenia and autism frequently have physical abnormalities to body parts formed during early organogenesis -- development of internal organs. Both autistics and schizophrenics sometimes have protruding ears and peculiar toes.

Ploeger also found autistic children were born in 4 percent of pregnancies in which softenon was ingested by mothers in the 1960s and 1970s to prevent morning sickness, whereas normally this figure is 0.1 percent. The women who had taken softenon between the 20th and 24th day of the pregnancy had the greatest chance of giving birth to an autistic child.

Ploeger advises women to stop risky behavior such as smoking, medicine use and stressful activities before they become pregnant.

Friday, December 05, 2008

Epilepsy Drug May Increase Risk Of Autism In Children

A new study shows that women who take the epilepsy drug valproate while pregnant may significantly increase their child's risk of developing autism.

The ongoing study involves 632 children, nearly half of whom were exposed to epilepsy drugs during gestation. Of the children whose mothers took epilepsy drugs while pregnant, 64 were exposed to valproate, 44 to lamotrigine, 76 to carbamazepine and 65 to other epilepsy drugs. Of the 632 children in the study, nine have been diagnosed with autism and one has shown symptoms of the disorder. The children were tested at one, three and six years old. Two-thirds of the children were six years old by the end of the study.

The study found seven of the children with autism had mothers who took an epilepsy drug while pregnant, four of those children were exposed to valproate while a fifth child's mother took a combination of valproate and lamotrigine. The children whose mothers were given valproate during pregnancy were seven times more likely to develop autism compared to children whose mothers did not take an epilepsy drug while pregnant. This risk was not seen with the other epilepsy drugs. None of the children in the study had any known family history of autism.

"The potential risk for autism in this study was substantial for children whose mothers took valproate while pregnant, but more research needs to be done since these are early findings," says study author Gus Baker, PhD, FBPsS, of the University of Liverpool in the United Kingdom."However, women who take valproate while pregnant should be informed of the possible risks of autism and are encouraged to discuss them with their doctor. Those who are taking valproate should not stop their treatment without speaking to their doctor first."

Other studies have shown that valproate is more likely to cause birth defects than other epilepsy drugs.

Symptoms of autism include difficulty in language development, a lack of attention, social problems and the inability to understand other people's feelings.

Wednesday, December 03, 2008

Epilepsy Drug May Raise Autism Risk in Offspring

Women taking the epilepsy drug valproate while pregnant are at increased risk of delivering a child who develops autism.
The British findings add to previous research showing that valproate and other anti-epilepsy drugs can contribute to birth defects.

"There's a fair amount of early data that indicates, for instance, that valproate may cause neural tube closure problems. That's an indication that valproate affects brain development," said Dr. Michel Berg, medical director of the Strong Epilepsy Center at the University of Rochester Medical Center. "That's an indication that valproate affects brain development. It's not surprising that it might affect other aspects of brain development."
Physicians are already cautious about prescribing valproate and other drugs to pregnant women or women planning to become pregnant, however.

Drugs for this condition have encountered other problems. Previous studies have also found that pregnant women who use the epilepsy drug topiramate (brand name Topamax) alone or in combination with other epilepsy drugs may be increasing their risk of birth defects. And the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently considered, but eventually rejected, adding a black-box warning that anti-seizure drugs can increase suicidal tendencies in patients.

There is a possibility that more children in the study could be diagnosed with autism or related disorders as time progresses, given that most are still young.

Tuesday, December 02, 2008

Children conceived with help of infertility treatments more likely to suffer from autism

A University of California study suggests that children of couples with fertility problems have an increased risk of serious birth defects, and while the researchers found that fertility treatments such as in vitro fertilization (IVF) might also increase the risk, they maintain the increase is low.

The study followed 4,000 women -- half with fertility problems and half without -- and their children up to the age of 6. Scientists found that the risk of mental retardation, cerebral palsy, seizures and cancer was increased 2.7 times among the children of the 2,000 women with fertility problems, and the risk of autism was four times higher. The study also found that the children of the couples with fertility problems were 40 percent more likely to have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, learning disabilities and serious sight or hearing disorders.

"What has caused them to be unable to conceive goes on to cause problems," said lead study author professor Mary Croughan. "It is as if a brick wall has stopped you becoming pregnant. Treatment allows you to climb over the wall, but it is still there and it goes on to cause problems."

However, British Fertility Society spokesperson Stuart Lavery questioned the study due to the wide variety of fertility problems and treatments available to the women.

"There is no doubt that people who have difficulties with their fertility have difficulties conceiving and carrying pregnancies, although it has not been shown that it is the infertility that is causing the problems," he said.

"With the enormous toxic load carried by typical consumers today, most women are simply not biochemically ready to conceive and produce a healthy child," said Mike Adams, a consumer health advocate and proponent of prenatal nutrition. "Artificial fertility processes can hijack the reproductive organs and force a conception, but they do nothing to address the underlying toxicities that likely contributed to the fertility problems in the first place."

Monday, December 01, 2008

Seeking autism's "signature"

Unique brain-wave patterns, spotted for the first time in autistic children, may help explain why they have so much trouble communicating.

Using an imaging helmet, researchers discovered what they believe are "signatures of autism" that show a delay in processing individual sounds.

That delay is only a fraction of a second, but when it's for every sound, the lag time can cascade into a major obstacle in speaking and understanding people, the researchers said.

Imagine if it took a tiny bit longer than normal to understand each syllable. By the end of a sentence, you'd be pretty confused.

The study authors believe that's what happens with autistic children, based on the brain-wave patterns detected in school-age children in their study.

The preliminary results need to be confirmed in younger children, but the researchers hope this technique could be used to help diagnose autism in children as young as age 1. That's at least a year earlier than usual, and it could mean behavior treatment much sooner.

Andrew Papanicolaou, director of the clinical neurosciences center at University of Texas' Houston campus, said the study makes a major contribution to autism research.

"It gives us a window through which we get a picture of some of the neurological conditions responsible for the peculiar behaviors in autism," said Papanicolaou, who was not involved in the research.

Study results were prepared for release today at the Radiological Society of North America meeting in Chicago.

The brain-wave study used noninvasive technology called magnetoencephalography, which measures magnetic fields generated in the brain.

Researchers at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia had 64 autistic children ages 6 to 15 listen through headphones to a series of rapid beeps while under the helmetlike device, which recorded the brain's response. Those brain waves were compared with responses in nonautistic children.

In autistic children, response to each sound was delayed by one-fiftieth of a second.

"We tend to speak at four syllables per second," said Timothy Roberts, the study's lead author and the hospital's vice chairman of research. If an autistic brain "is slow in processing a change in a syllable ... it could easily get to the point of being overloaded."

Experts say one in 150 U.S. children has autism, a disorder involving poor verbal communication, repetitive behaviors such as head-banging, and avoidance of physical or eye contact.

Among those in the study was Parker Leiby, a 9-year-old Mount Laurel, N.J., boy with mild autism and speech difficulties. He said he felt like an astronaut wearing that big helmet and called the whole experience "cool." Parker was diagnosed at age 2. Since then, he has had extensive treatment, including speech therapy. He's in a regular third-grade class, loves cross-country running and hopes to become an engineer.

Before the study last year, "we didn't have an answer" about his language difficulties, said Parker's mother, Kim. "It helped shed a lot of light."