Autism

[sheme]

I thank you for this observation Bill, the By for now thread was closed before I could give my support to Tesla I do so here and now.

[chocolate]

The good thing about all that happened is that it gave me the opportunity to 'see' a lot of people for who they actually are.

As with everything it comes to a balance between who is more important.
I had time to learn to know a lot of people, to adapt to the "ways here", and also to find the time to feel totally out of place. It was all well done, and I am actually thankful for the opportunity.

A few will always remain my friends.

Now, I guess, I have to post

back to topic.

[Bob]

Hi Tesla - reading this today on neural toxicity in-utero and after birth for children..

"The developing human brain is incredibly vulnerable to chemical exposures, both in utero and in early childhood, and these changes can be lifelong. “During these sensitive life stages,” say the authors, “chemicals can cause permanent brain injury at low levels of exposure that would have little or no adverse effect in an adult.”

"The neurotoxin “pandemic” is disturbing enough that the authors strongly recommend having mandatory tests for chemicals, which many have been arguing for years.

"One common complaint has been that when one compound does finally become banned, another equally toxic and often untested chemical may take its place.

"More rigorous testing, though complicated to carry out, might address this major issue."

11 Toxic Chemicals Affecting Brain Development In Children

"The list of chemicals that can affect brain development in children has grown. In a study out today in The Lancet Neurology, researchers outline new chemicals that may be contributing to what they dub the “global, silent pandemic of neurodevelopmental toxicity.”

These would be lead, methylmercury, polychlorinated biphenyls, arsenic, and toluene. Since 2006, epidemiological studies have documented six additional developmental neurotoxicants—manganese, fluoride, chlorpyrifos, dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, tetrachloroethylene, and the polybrominated diphenyl ethers.

Forbes covered the Lancet article here: http://www.forbes.com/sites/alicegwa...t-in-children/

Contributors:
Department of Environmental Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA

Some Highlights:

Tetrachloroethylene (AKAperchlorethylene)– These solvents have been linked to hyperactivity and aggressive behavior, and increased risk of psychiatric diagnosis. Mothers in certain professional roles, like nurse, chemist, cleaner, hairdresser, and beautician had higher levels of exposure. (this substance was used in the Lockheed Martin plant west of Highlands Ranch, Colorado, there was suspicion that this chemical leaked into the water supply over the years the plant was in operation, and lead to brain damage in the children. There were numerous shootings in the area, starting with Columbine Massacre to events less than two months ago.)

Arsenic – When absorbed through drinking water, this chemical has been linked to reduced cognitive function in schoolchildren. Follow-up studies from the Morinaga milk poisoning incident have linked it to neurological disease in adulthood.

Toluene – Used as a solvent, maternal exposure has been linked to brain development problems and attention deficit in the child, according to the EPA and OSHA. Toluene also was used as a cleaning agent in the Lockheed Martin plant, west of Highlands Ranch, Colorado.

ED NOTE: in this FORUM LINK (see post #4) we talked about the chemical leak coverup in the Lockheed Martin plant, a water researcher being snow-balled.. kids having grown up "downstream" from the plant drinking contaminated water, their Mom's having also..

https://projectavalon.net/forum4/show...LockOut-Status

[Bob]

Hi Tesla, some more reports on toxins creating brain abnormalities..

the reference is: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3404655/ - from Environ Health Perspect. 2012 July; 120(7): a258–a260.
Published online 2012 July 2. doi: 10.1289/ehp.1104285
PMCID: PMC3404655

Summary: Autism, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), mental retardation, dyslexia, and other biologically based disorders of brain development affect between 400,000 and 600,000 of the 4 million children born in the United States each year. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reported that autism spectrum disorder (ASD) now affects 1.13% (1 of 88) of American children (CDC 2012) and ADHD affects 14% (CDC 2005; Pastor and Reuben 2008).

"Exploration of the environmental causes of autism and other NDDs has been catalyzed by growing recognition of the exquisite sensitivity of the developing human brain to toxic chemicals (Grandjean and Landrigan 2006). This susceptibility is greatest during unique “windows of vulnerability” that open only in embryonic and fetal life and have no later counter-part (Miodovnik 2011)."

Something that may be worthy of doing some studies on (to determine if chemical toxicity or viral damage occurred) may be obtained by questionnaire looking at these items:

1) Were there early exposures to medications taken in the first trimester of pregnancy—thalidomide, misoprostol, and valproic acid—and to first-trimester rubella infection (Arndt et al. 2005; Daniels 2006).

2) Were there early exposures to exposures to the organophosphate insecticide chlorpyrifos (Eskenazi et al. 2007) - malathion, used around the world to attempt to eradicate mosquitoes - used "on-base". Chlorpyrifos, an organophosphate insecticide, is the most widely used insecticide in the U.S. It is used both in agriculture and for pest control in houses and other buildings. Americans are widely exposed to chlorpyrifos. Typical diets, particularly those of children, contain significant chlorpyrifos residues. About 10 percent of the food items tested by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration contained chlorpyrifos residues, and illegal residues occur on many foods.

Diazinon is an organophosphate insecticide with agricultural, commercial, and household uses. Household uses predominate, with 75 million applications in the U.S. annually totaling over 5 million pounds.

Naled is an insecticide in the organophosphate pesticide family used primarily for mosquito control. Dibrom is a common brand name for Naled products. About one million pounds are used annually in the U.S. )

3) Were there prenatal exposures to phthalates (Miodovnik et al. 2011). (Phthalates have been used as plasticisers in many plastics since the 1930's. Hot plastics with food on them, beverages, can leech these substances into the food or beverage.)

4) Were there exposures to lead (Jusko et al. 2008), (lead existed in paints AND gasoline in the 40's through the 70's)

5) Were there exposures to methyl-mercury (Oken et al. 2008), (People in the U.S. and elsewhere are mainly exposed to methylmercury, an organic compound, when they eat fish and shellfish that contain methylmercury. Whether an exposure to the various forms of mercury will harm a person's health depends on a number of factors. Almost all people have at least trace amounts of methylmercury in their tissues.)

6) Were there exposures to organophosphate insecticides (London et al. 2012), organo-chlorine insecticides (Eskenazi et al. 2008), (these chemicals are/were used frequently to treat for ANTS around houses, to spray outdoor plants)

7) Were there exposures to polychlorinated biphenyls (Winneke 2011), (these are insulating oils typically found in transformers, banned by 1979, and potentially dumped into landfills and having made their way into the water. The St. Lawrence Seaway has notorious sediments of such chemicals, and others - larger fish and whales have been declared "TOXIC" from having consumed bottom fish in the Seaway)

8) Were there exposures to arsenic (Wasserman et al. 2007), (arsenic is used as a WOOD PRESERVATIVE, typically a green colored preservative)

9) Were there exposures to excessive manganese (Khan et al. 2011), (Manganese can exist in water wells, as well as living near steel mills, with manganese emission in the air)

10) Were there exposures to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (Perera et al. 2009), (these items can be found in spray paints, even from forest fires or emissions from volcanoes)

11) Were there exposures to bisphenol A (Braun et al. 2011), (plastic bottles used in drinking, used in baby bottles, used to coat cans insides to prevent them from rusting)

12) Were there exposures to brominated flame retardants (Herbstman et al. 2010), (these items can exist in RUGS, in couches, stain resistant and fireproofed lounge chairs, in short anywhere a consumer grade cloth has been treated to reduce its flammability rating)

13) And lastly, were there exposures to perfluorinated compounds (Stein and Savitz 2011). For instance many popcorn bags are coated on the INSIDE with PFC's to make them stick resistant. Placing such in the microwave, heating and eating exposes one to the PFC's. Did Mom have such types of popcorn while baby was in utero?) ref: http://watoxics.org/chemicals-of-con...compounds-pfcs

Doing such an inventory questionnaire may therefore help a Mom understand what happened, and possibly prevent future exposure to more babies in utero. A report created by a researcher could offer this type of data, showing statistically the potential for damage, and possible environmental factors can be changed. Alerting new Moms to such substances, I think is very important.

I suspect based on the prevalence of both LEAD from gasoline vapors, and the Organo Phosphate insecticides, that the amount damage of neo-natal, in-utero, and in young children could be traced back to those influences, secondarily, the tri and tetra-chloro-ethylene "cleaning" compounds. The TCE's were used frequently "on-base" to address the stains on airplanes, on the flight lines. They were used in dry cleaning facilities, and would evaporate into the environment - noteworthy uses for removing of grease stains.

I was privy in about 2000-2001 to solvent ground seepage problems in Eglin AFB, Florida. I was asked if there was a cleanup solution to that underground seepage problem. At the time there was no solution evident, the solvent was continuing to move underground.

Bases known to be contaminated: http://www.gmasw.com/ao_bases.htm (old study, 1992)

A more recent study - http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/HAC/pha/PHA.asp?docid=173&pg=1

"ATSDR investigated a contaminated groundwater plume originating from the C-6 Radar Facility.The nearest down-gradient drinking water wells from this site are located off base, 3 miles south,in the town of Portland, Florida. The extent of the trichloroethylene (TCE) contamination was defined to be entirely on Eglin AFB property. To ensure that the contamination does not migrate to Portland, the Air Force conducts long-term monitoring of the groundwater at the site on an annual basis (Earth Tech 2000a)." They are aware and "monitoring"..

[Bob]

Fetal brain abnormality, potentially in Autism, ADHD, ADD, hyperactivity disorder

from reference - http://www.addictiontreatmentmagazin...-brain-damage/

Inhalant use, or accidental exposure from working with solvents, paints (especially aerosol paints), or deliberate exposure has been creating brain damage in babies in the womb.

"Like alcohol and classic drugs of abuse that produce harmful changes in pregnancy—such as cocaine, amphetamine, methamphetamine, and heroin—inhalants achieve their negative pregnancy-related effects because they can pass through a blood vessel network called the placental barrier, which indirectly connects the blood supply of an expectant mother and the blood supply of her developing fetus inside the placenta. In order to survive, a fetus relies on this barrier for the transfer of oxygen and nutrients from the maternal bloodstream; it also relies on the placental barrier to pass carbon dioxide and other types of waste to the maternal bloodstream for eventual elimination."

"Inside an expectant mother’s bloodstream, inhalants called volatile solvents can significantly reduce the amount of oxygen available for transfer to a developing fetus, the Royal Women’s Hospital reports. In turn, reduced oxygen flow to the fetus can potentially produce oxygen deficits that alter or delay the development of the brain skills that people rely on from birth for such basic tasks as learning, using memory, and exercising higher-level judgment and decision-making abilities. In some cases, these delays may be temporary; in other cases, they may remain as permanent mental impairments. Inhalants classified as volatile solvents include paint thinner, paint remover, gasoline, degreasers, and various types of dry-cleaning fluid."

If you can smell it, and you are pregnant, you could be exposing your baby to these substances. Earlier posts have shown studies where definitive brain damage has happened.

Besides toluene, specific chemicals in volatile solvents that can trigger the onset of fetal solvent syndrome include benzene, petroleum ether, xylene, and methanol; all of these chemicals are frequently found in substances preferred by inhalant users. All these chemicals are used industrially, and commercially. Exposure can be deliberate (huffing), or accidental, being around a facility which uses these substances in its daily operations.

Since many of the chemicals capable of producing fetal solvent syndrome appear in gasoline, doctors also sometimes refer to the condition as fetal gasoline syndrome. Are those vapors being inhaled while pumping gasoline? If you smell it, it is possible such is happening.

Among all inhalants, toluene is particularly well-known for its ability to damage fetal or newborn health when used during pregnancy. Toluene is found in most paints which say they adhere to PLASTICS very well. In Australia, Toluene has been illegally found combined with GASOLINE. ref on Toluene: https://www.osha.gov/Publications/OSHA3646.html - Toluene is used in many products and workplaces, from printing operations, manufacturing facilities and construction sites even to nail salons.

Is your nail polish TOXIC? see http://kimberlysnyder.net/blog/2012/...-polish-toxic/ - check that site and notice the comments on the pthalates and toluene (toluol)

Apart from fetal solvent syndrome, specific potential impacts of the chemical include chromosome alteration or outright chromosome damage, increased risks for a miscarriage or stillbirth, and an increased risk for withdrawal symptoms in a child born to an inhalant user.

[pugwash84]

Both my boys are on the ASD spectrum and the doctor is now testing them for fragile X syndrome which is what she is thinking they have. It effects boys more than girls and my girls are fine just the boys on the spectrum. One of my boys is severely autistic the other is more like Asperger's .

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fragile_X_syndrome

http://www.autism.org.uk/about-autis...-syndrome.aspx

[Flash]

there are many needs when talking of autism Spectrum:

1. The cruel need for information, for parents, families and autistic people. Information is lacking, research if not what it should be. It is getting better (10 years ago you would scratch your head) but it is not entirely there yet. The need for information is sooooo great that it must be made available to all. If we do not get the information we can, how can we decide on paths to follow (treatments, prayers, nothing to do, etc).

2. The needs of next of kin: Parents are desperate for information and understanding. Until you have seen a grown up 40 years old men his head on your table with unstopable tears crying, for his beloved son, you haven't seen the overall of the autism Spectrum. It does not stop at the autistics themselves. Borthers and sisters are also impacted, sometimes correctly but most of the time badly, depending on the depth of the symptoms of the autistic brother/sister. These needs here are informational, emotional and Financial. Often one of both parents have to give up their job for their child and poverty follows. Other times they pay for alternative treatments that are more or less efficients, depending on the "unknown" source of the behavioral/mental differencers, but nevertheless very expensive. Poverty follows.

3. The needs of the autistic person: Living with autism can be at times very difficult. In fact, in my views, so difficult at times that it is almost at par with torture. Deep autistic people are often deprived of their families at a later age, and are put into homes that are not the best for anyone, if the state does grant this. With higher autism, although very responsible human beings, they will often have problems to find a well paid job, once on the job they may be discriminated, not understood for sure, name it. Same at school. Until you have seen a Young boy getting in your home after school having a melt down, only to discover later after the melt down and hours to make him talk, that he had been treathened to be killed by 2 boys in the school bus, until then, you cannot understands what they go through on a daily basis. And here melt down means kicking, crying, screaming, pitching himself eveywhere, then kicking on the floor, at 5 foot 2 and 140 pounds 10 years old. They need comprehension, protection, help, introduction in the world, and mostly, patienly listening to their individual needs. And be able to express them and live their life to their best.

4. The need for understanding the greater implications of autism, being at times the need for some geniuses in particular aspect of science helping the human race, some soul having a hard time to integrate their bodies for whichever reason, some karmic accident or yet, some karmic debt to fulfill, or the attempt of nature at évolutions of the human specie (which i personnally doubt) or whatever other reason.

5. The need for letting steam off for all those involved in or around autism.

Now, find me a member, a moderator, a god who can take care in a coherent manner of all these needs amongst a large group of people from all over the world, in one thread, and i will lift my hat in admiration. This is a case were I wish we were using mind mapping and were having on topic detailed in lots of underneath topics, all regrouped with a single line of thinking/doing yet all independent at the same time.

It is really up to Tesla to decide how she wants to manage her thread, in view of the complexity of the topic. We here, can provide support, help, to whichever thread is being developed on the topic. So that all of us can benefit

[Flash]

Here on article that was posted by Carmody a few years ago in another thread https://projectavalon.net/forum4/show...l=1#post416630

Gene mutation in autism found to cause hyperconnectivity in brain's hearing center

New research from Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) might help explain how a gene mutation found in some autistic individuals leads to difficulties in processing auditory cues and paying spatial attention to sound.

The study has found that when a suspected autism gene called PTEN is deleted from auditory cortical neurons—the main workhorses of the brain's sound-processing center—the signals that these neurons receive from local as well as long-distance sources are strengthened beyond normal levels. These effects, the study shows, can be blocked by a drug currently in use as an immunosuppressant.

"It's long been hypothesized that autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) arise from a partial disruption of long-range connections in the brain during development," explains Professor Tony Zador, who led the study. "Our finding that PTEN-deficient neurons receive stronger inputs suggests that one way this disruption can be caused is by signal enhancement." His team's work appears in the Journal of Neuroscience on February 1.

Although ASDs could arise from mutations in any of dozens of candidate genes, a core triad of symptoms defines all cases: impaired language, impaired social interaction, and restricted and repetitive behaviors. "The challenge therefore has been to understand how this diverse set of candidate genes and the pathways they control converge to cause the common signature of ASDs," Zador says.

The auditory cortex, which plays a critical role in auditory attention and perception, forms functional connections with other sensory cortices and critical brain areas. The neural network within the auditory cortex has therefore been a target of studies aimed at understanding how alterations in neural circuits contribute to dysfunction in ASDs.

Zador's team focused for several reasons on the role of one suspected autism candidate gene, PTEN, on circuit alterations within the auditory cortex. Well known for its role as an anti-cancer gene that powers down cell growth, proliferation and survival, this gene has also been linked to ASDs by a slew of studies in humans and mice. PTEN mutations have been found in autistic individuals with extreme macroencephaly – an increase in brain volume. PTEN loss in mice has been found to boost cell size and the number of neuronal connections in the brain.

To decipher the role of PTEN on functional connectivity in the auditory cortex, Zador's group selectively disrupted the function of the PTEN gene in adult mice, only in a subset of neurons of the auditory cortex, while leaving the gene intact in neighboring neurons. The scientists then assessed the effect of the loss of PTEN on connectivity within the auditory cortex using techniques that involve stimulation by laser or flashes of blue light to trigger neuronal activity either locally or in other brain areas that send neuronal projections into the auditory cortex.

The rapid and robust increase in the strength of both long-range and local inputs observed following PTEN loss could possibly be explained by an increase that the scientists observed in the length and density of dendritic spines – the tiny, knob-like structures jutting out of a neuron that act like signal-receiving antennae.

These effects could be blocked, however, by chemically negating the effect of PTEN loss. One of the pathways regulated by the PTEN protein involves shutting down an intracellular enzyme called mTORC1, which promotes cell growth, among other things. Zador's group found that treating the PTEN-deficient mice for 10 days with the mTORC1-inhibitor rapamycin prevented an increase in dendritic spine number and signal strength.

While Zador is excited about "this finding that suggests that mTORC1 could be a good therapeutic target for some cases of PTEN-mediated brain disorders," he is also keen to further pursue his team's new evidence that cortical hyperconnectivity could be the "final pathway" by which diverse ASD genetic pathways lead to a single ASD phenotype. "Using cortical connectivity as a paradigm for assessing ASD candidate genes could provide insights into the mechanisms of the disorders and perhaps even give us clues to formulate new therapeutic strategies," he states.


More information: "PTEN regulation of local and long-range connections in mouse auditory cortex" appears in the Journal of Neuroscience on February 1.
http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-0...ity-brain.html

[Fairy Friend]

It seems to me to make sense that even if some things listed above are a possible cause of autism then running tests maybe in order. Indeed, the very first poopy and peepee would be most informative. The urine showing the toxins being excreted including toxic exposure and viruses, bacteria and fungus and the feces showing probiotic profile (candida, bifidus, various acidophilus...) the presence of the right stuff in balance or inbalanced or the presence of bad probiotics, parasite, fungus etc., which tells us the body's ability to handle viruses, immunizations, allergies, etc. Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride at Mercola.com

I believe we should be running the tests. My grandson has autism and was disappearing to me. His father has a nickel allergy. (which we have resistance by the doctor to test for it and was told it is rare but I know for a fact several people who have it. And we know dad has it??) My local well had high cadmium levels and so I began Epsom salt baths to detoxify him from metals. We saw an immediate affect.

I know that chelation therapy was mentioned however, I would hesitate on many chelators (EDTA-ethylene diamine tetra acetic acid) for they bind to the metals and form large molecules that the liver processes but it can fry your liver (nodule formation). It may be hard on a child's liver. I knew of one person (deceased) with Wilson's disease (allergy to copper) and had chelation therapy. It did fry his liver. Alternative to this is Zinc which blocks absorption of the copper present in foods or water in the intestines.

Yet since children get into the darndest places and fall into vats of toxins. It may be necessary to fry the liver. Most medical text will say 1/3 of the liver can regenerate, I saw a paper the stated 1/5 was left and the patient survived. With a very high protein diet it will regenerate and perhaps liver cleansing.

Please don't laugh at the falling into the vat of toxin, know of a child personally, pesticides, liver already fried. Idiot savant, could take a machine apart and rebuild it. Antisocial, easily overstimulated...t(2;19) never seen before, we published, 2003 I think at the UW cytogenetics lab. I did Fragile X testing, personally, although I questioned Angelman's syndrome del(15)(q11q13) another possible cause, same as autism with development, speech delays etc. but they laugh constantly, inappropriately, lots of hand flapping and flat heads, large lower jaw.

I think we saw an immediate affect from epsom salt baths, probiotics, juicing, really the more organic and natural the foods the better the results. People are having results here. Working on fermented foods yet and a hyperbaric chamber (oxygenating).

Music and play therapy, I had to manifest an expert here but she helped to bring him out and show us how to communicate with him. “Play to talk” by James MacDonald Ph.D. And Pam Stoika PhD.

We could proceed better if we knew sugar is off, ran neural scans, they have a wheat-gluten allergy, mercury present if we ran a lot of tests and saw the results. Each maybe rare but collectively I think there is a pay off.

[Chanlo23]

Some resource links for Autism research. They are likely too remedial for those who have been engaged in Autism research for a long time, but may be useful for newbies:

• Autism Research Institute ARI is a nonprofit organization devoted to conducting research on the triggers of autism and on methods of diagnosing and treating autism and they provide this research-based information to parents and professionals affected by autism spectrum disorders.
  
• Autism Research at the NICHD The goal of this site is to provide easy access to the most current information about NICHD research projects, publications, news releases, and other activities related to autism and similar disorders.
  
• Autism Research Network The Autism Research Network, part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), supports research dedicated to understanding and treating autism. This site provides information about the Collaborative Programs of Excellence in Autism (CPEA) Network, dedicated to research about the cause of autism, and the Studies to Advance Autism Rsesearch and Treatment (STAART) Network, dedicated to research on treatments.
  
• Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies Applied behavior analysis methods of autism intervention. Good Website for learning more about this educational approach.
  
• MCH Library Knowledge Path: Autism Spectrum Disorders An online collection of resources about ASD for path for health professionals, educators, researchers, policymakers, and families.
  
• PubMed PubMed is a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine that includes over 18 million citations from MEDLINE and other life science journals for biomedical articles back to the 1950s. PubMed includes links to full text articles and other related resources.
  
• Research Autism Research Autism is the only UK charity dedicated to research into interventions in autism. We commission, carry out and support high quality, independent research into new and existing health, education, social and other interventions. Our website at is one of the biggest, most up-to-date, and most reliable websites in the world for information about autism interventions.
  
• Rich Center for Autism at Youngstown State University A national facility for the study and treatment of autism for distance learning technology and programs.
  
• The Autism Autoimmunity Project (TAAP) Funds independent research addressing immune and immunogenetic abnormalities in autism.
  
• UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute The M.I.N.D. Institute is dedicated to understanding the causes and to help develop better treatments and ultimately cures for neurodevelopmental disorders.
• IAN Project This is an innovative online initiative connecting researchers with families affected by autism spectrum disorders (ASD). This dynamic exchange is not only helping to influence public policy, but could lead to important breakthroughs about causes, diagnosis, treatments, and a possible cure.
• Summary of Dietary, Nutritional and Medical Treatments for Autism This document is intended to provide a simple summary for families and physicians of the major dietary, nutritional, and medical treatments available to help children and adults with autism spectrum disorders. The discussion is limited to those treatments which have scientific research support, with an emphasis on nutritional interventions. This report excludes psychiatric medications for brevity. The dietary, nutritional, and medical treatments discussed here will not help every individual with autism, but they have helped thousands of children and adults improve, usually slowly and steadily over months and years, but sometimes dramatically. This summary is primarily based on review of the scientific literature, and includes over 150 references to peer-reviewed scientific research studies.

[Chanlo23]

More Links:

• Measles map exposes global fallout of an autism scare campaign This map/article purports to show that wherever autism activists and campaigned against vaccines, there has been a rise in preventable diseases. Does anyone have links to research linking Autism to vaccines that has not been discredited and/or has been supported by additional research?
  
• SFARI Gene is an evolving database for the autism research community that is centered on genes implicated in autism susceptibility. The SFARI Gene web portal seamlessly integrates different kinds of genetic data that are being generated by research studies, and in so doing encourages the generation of new hypotheses.
  
• Top-ten-advances-autism-research-2013 The year 2013 brought signs of a gratifying maturation in autism research. From whole genome sequencing to the presence of good bacteria.

Thanks!

[Sierra]

Hello

This thread has been split into two threads, one for research papers (Tesla's thread here), and the other for a discussion of autism.

I had to delete some posts, that did not seem to fit anywhere, so the discussion may seem disjointed on both threads. I apologize if I have offended anyone (this was a difficult thread to split). I saved the posts that did not end up on either thread, so contact me if you want your missing post(s) to be added back in to a thread.

The new thread is called "Autism Discussion", and it is located in General Discussion.

https://projectavalon.net/forum4/show...l=1#post789571

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Sierra

[Hervé]

Toxic Chemicals Linked to 'Global, Silent Pandemic' Striking Children Worldwide
Published on Monday, February 17, 2014 by Common Dreams

"The presumption that new chemicals and technologies are safe until proven otherwise is a fundamental problem," study authors write

- Andrea Germanos, staff writer

Toxic chemicals including some pesticides and solvents may be behind the increasing number of cases of neurodevelopmental disabilities—including autism and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder—among children, researchers warn.

"We have the methods in place to test industrial chemicals for harmful effects on children's brain development—now is the time to make that testing mandatory," stated study co-author Philippe Grandjean. The findings are presented in a study by Philippe Grandjean, adjunct professor of environmental health at Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) and Philip Landrigan, Dean for Global Health at Mount Sinai published online Saturday in Lancet Neurology.

"The greatest concern is the large numbers of children who are affected by toxic damage to brain development in the absence of a formal diagnosis. They suffer reduced attention span, delayed development and poor school performance. Industrial chemicals are now emerging as likely causes," said Grandjean.

The new study follows similar research by the authors published in 2006 in which they reviewed clinical and epidemiological studies and identified five industrial chemicals as developmental neurotoxicants: lead, methylmercury, polychlorinated biphenyls, arsenic and toluene.

Grandjean and Landrigan's current review updates that list and adds six newly recognized developmental neurotoxicants: manganese, fluoride, chlorpyrifos and DDT (pesticides), tetrachloroethylene (a solvent), and the polybrominated diphenyl ethers (often used as flame retardants).

Manganese has been linked to diminished intellectual function and impaired motor skills, and solvents have been linked to hyperactivity and aggressive behavior, the authors write.

The effects of neurotoxicity can be society-wide, the authors note, as loss of IQ points may bring down earnings thereby affecting GDP. They can be costly as well; for example, the annual cost of lead poisoning in the U.S. is $50 billion, while behavioral problems associated with neurotoxicant exposure could also require special educational services and may even lead to incarceration, the authors write.

"The presumption that new chemicals and technologies are safe until proven otherwise is a fundamental problem," the authors write, adding, "Voluntary controls seem to be of little value."

To confront this "global, silent pandemic," the authors urge an international strategy that takes a precautionary approach to fully evaluate new chemicals before they hit the markets. Testing on industrial chemicals and pesticides already on the market should also take place, they say.

"The problem is international in scope, and the solution must therefore also be international," Grandjean stated. "We have the methods in place to test industrial chemicals for harmful effects on children's brain development—now is the time to make that testing mandatory."

____________________

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License.

[Chanlo23]

I have been trying to research prescription medications used in the treatment of Autism. I find it interesting that atypical antipsychotics are/have been prescribed for hyperactivity and aggressiveness. Has anyone seen newer research on medication for symptomology?

• Medicines treating core symptoms. Medicines for treating the three core symptoms of autism – communication difficulties, social challenges and repetitive behavior – have long represented a huge area of unmet need. Unfortunately, few drugs on the market today effectively relieve these symptoms and none of the options most often prescribed by practitioners work well for every individual. In fact, while the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved two drugs for treating irritability associated with the autism (risperidone and aripiprazole), it has yet to approve a medicine for treating autism’s three core characteristics. Nonetheless, medicines such as risperidone and aripiprazole can be beneficial in ways that can ease these core symptoms, because relieving irritability often improves sociability while reducing tantrums, aggressive outbursts and self-injurious behaviors. The good news is that the range of medication options may soon change, thanks to recent advances in our understanding of the biology that produces autism’s core symptoms. This has made it possible for researchers to begin testing compounds that may help normalize crucial brain functions involved in autism. Early experiments suggest that several compounds with different mechanisms of action have great potential for clinical use, and many are now in clinical trials.
  
• NIH Study on the use of Anti-psychotics for Autism Although this study is from 2008, its results may still be 'coloring' research and treatment. Summary: Atypical antipsychotics have become indispensable in the treatment of a variety of symptoms in autism. They are frequently used to treat irritability and associated behaviors including aggression and self injury. They may also be efficacious for hyperactivity and stereotyped behavior. This review presents the rationale for the use of this drug class in autism and reviews the most important studies published on this topic to date. Significant adverse effects, including weight gain and the possibility of tardive dyskinesia, are reviewed. Future research directions are discussed.
  
• Drugs-medication-for-autism. Summary of 5 prescription drugs for Autism treatment (from 2011). Being a neural disorder, autism cannot be treated through medicines. Medical practitioners use drugs in cases of autism solely to treat and manage symptoms. Five major drug categories are regularly used for symptomatic treatment: Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) (for anxiety, depression, and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD); Anti psychotic drugs (old usage) like Haloperidol, Chlorpromazine, Thioridazine, and Fluphenazine (controlling the intensity of the neurotransmitter dopamine in the brain; Anti psychotic (new) - Risperidone (aggression and self-injury among autistic children with fewer side effects); Anti-convulsants to control seizures; Stimulants (e.g. Ritalin) for control and treat the autistic tendencies of inattention and hyperactivity. Apart from these medications, vitamin B6 is being tested as a drug to stimulate brain activity. However, and to reiterate, none of these drugs can be seen as a direct treatment for autism. They are medications for symptomatic relief, with long-term therapy being the only viable treatment for autism.

[Tesla_WTC_Solution]

regarding prescriptions, a common mistake is Risperdal.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Risperidone

Some of the moms and dads in my King County Washington autism support email group say their kids developed Tardive Dyskinesia after being exposed to the drug.
One of the girls is aged 11 and no longer displays many of her normal reflexes after being on Risperdal.

Also Paxil was linked to Fragile X when the parents took it.

So... try the ALTERNATIVES to these, if you can, based on educated advice (experience of parents who tried that).




Deplin is a good prescription, Chanlo23, it's a treated B vitamin made specially for people with auto immunity to Folate receptors.
Us autistic people just keep showing up in the Drs office so much, they are starting to see what's going on.

what on earth would cause an allergy to folate receptors?
sounds fishy doesnt it?

[Tesla_WTC_Solution]

Here is a massively fishy article, in terms of vaccine administration predating PTSD -- these doctors say that before PTSD develops, the troops' bodies and brains become INFLAMED, like the director who just died (Ramis?) of inflammatory autoimmune vasculitis holy crap right?

http://www.medpagetoday.com/Psychiat...&mu_id=5906468

Inflammation May Be PTSD Risk Factor
Published: Feb 27, 2014 | Updated: Feb 27, 2014

By John Gever, Deputy Managing Editor, MedPage Today
Reviewed by F. Perry Wilson, MD, MSCE; Instructor of Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and Dorothy Caputo, MA, BSN, RN, Nurse

High levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), an inflammation marker, were seen in soldiers who later developed post-traumatic stress disorder, researchers said.

Among U.S. Marines and Navy personnel who consented to participate in a prospective study, each 10-fold increment in CRP levels at pre-deployment baseline was associated with a 51% increased likelihood of showing at least one PTSD symptom after deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan (odds ratio 1.51, 95% CI 1.15-1.97, P=0.003), reported Dewleen Baker, MD, of the VA Healthcare System in San Diego, and colleagues.

Writing online in JAMA Psychiatry, the researchers proposed that inflammation may predispose people to develop PTSD.

"If peripheral inflammation contributes to the development of PTSD, interventions to decrease inflammation, such as dietary or lifestyle modifications, might ameliorate the severity of this disorder," they wrote.

Paul E. Schulz, MD, of the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston, who was not involved with the study, told MedPage Today that a clinical study "to investigate whether lowering CRP leads to a reduced incidence of developing PTSD" would help confirm a cause-and-effect relationship.

Another scholar not associated with the study said it highlighted an exciting area in PTSD research.

"The immune system is really a very complex part of the body, and I think we are just now beginning to understand its role in interactions with psychiatric illness," said Bruce Capehart, MD, of Duke University.

But he suggested that it would be premature to accept the current study as proof that inflammation is causative in PTSD.

He pointed to a lack of "dose-response" in the study -- in particular, that participants with baseline CRP levels higher than 10 ng/mL (well above the mean of 1.93 ng/mL) did not show significantly higher risk of PTSD than those with lower but still above-average CRP values.

"To look at it as one-way causation may not be that simple," Capehart said. "We may be looking at a two-way relationship there. Maybe there is a susceptibility there for some people to have a modestly elevated inflammatory state and a simultaneous greater risk for developing an anxiety disorder."

Study Design and Results

The analysis was part of the prospective Marine Resiliency Study, in which a total of 2,610 Marines and Navy sailors in four cohorts were recruited prior to war-theater deployment for baseline testing and subsequent medical and psychiatric follow-up. Participants were considered physically healthy at baseline.

Psychiatric follow-up was conducted after the conclusion of 7-month deployments at 3 months and again at 6 months. Data from both visits were available for 1,617 participants.

Mean participant age was about 23 but ranged from 18 to 48. CRP levels at baseline averaged 1.93 ng/mL (SD 3.31); the median level was 0.79 and the full range was 0.03 to 28.53. About half the cohort had been deployed before and the median time in military service was 3 years.

PTSD was evaluated with the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS); mean baseline scores were 14.89 (SD 15.37). Other psychiatric assessments included the Beck anxiety and depression scales. Participants were asked about deployment-related trauma at the 3-month visit.

Overall, the prevalence of PTSD did not change markedly post- versus pre-deployment. Diagnoses of PTSD were made in 4.7% of participants at baseline and in 6.3% and 5.1% at the 3- and 6-month evaluations after conclusion of deployment.

Mean CAPS scores at the 3- and 6-month points were 17.40 (SD 18.01) and 15.41 (SD 17.39), respectively (P versus baseline not reported).

Baker and colleagues used a statistical method called zero-inflated negative binomial regression for their analyses of baseline factors in association with post-deployment CAPS scores. This was intended to compensate for data distributions "that have an excess of zeroes in addition to being positively skewed," they explained.

Under this method, measures of combat exposure and potentially traumatic battlefield experiences were significantly associated with CAPS scores at the 3-month post-deployment visit, with odds ratios of 1.03 (95% CI 1.01-1.05) and 1.08 (95% CI 1.03-1.13), respectively in a "zero model" indicating presence versus absence of any PTSD symptom.

In a "count model," indicating the extent of symptoms when present, scores for combat exposure, battlefield experience, and 10-fold increment in CRP were associated with post-deployment CAPS score as follows:

Combat exposure: OR 1.01 (P=0.001)
Battlefield experience: OR 1.04 (P<0.001)
Log CRP: OR 1.06 (P=0.09)
Looking at the data more simply, Baker and colleagues calculated that, after adjusting for combat exposure and battlefield experience scores, those with PTSD symptoms at the 6-month visit had mean baseline CRP levels of 1.0 ng/mL, versus about 0.77 ng/mL for those without post-deployment symptoms (P<0.05).

What Does It Mean?

Schulz said the inflammation-PTSD relationship was definitely plausible on the basis of several lines of research. For example, he told MedPage Today in an email, previous traumatic brain injury is a known risk factor for PTSD, and the mechanism may involve chronic brain inflammation resulting from the injury. Other lines of research have implicated immunological factors in promoting susceptibility to PTSD, he said.

But he acknowledged that CRP in the study could also have served as a marker for pre-existing stress and anxiety.

"Several of the papers we reviewed as part of a 'review of the risk factors for PTSD' suggested that a personal history of anxiety, a family history of anxiety, and a family history of depression, are risk factors for developing PTSD," Schulz said. He also noted that previous research had identified dozens of other risk factors for PTSD.

Psychologist David Blackburn, PhD, of Temple Mental Health Center in Temple, Texas, part of the Scott & White Healthcare system, who also was not involved with the study, told MedPage Today that future investigations into the relationship should take a broader perspective.

"I think subsequent research needs to not only involve military members who have PTSD, but also civilians who also have PTSD; this would strengthen the study," he said in an email. "In addition, more longitudinal studies over longer periods of time would also strengthen the relationship [Baker and colleagues] are proposing."

Capehart said the complexity of the mind-body relationship when it comes to PTSD "makes it a very exciting time to be practicing psychiatry."

The study was funded by the U.S. government.

Authors declared they had no relevant financial interests.

______________________________________________________________-





Also please read:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23337946

Mol Psychiatry. 2014 Feb;19(2):259-64. doi: 10.1038/mp.2012.197. Epub 2013 Jan 22.
Elevated maternal C-reactive protein and autism in a national birth cohort.

Brown AS1, Sourander A2, Hinkka-Yli-Salomäki S3, McKeague IW4, Sundvall J5, Surcel HM6.
Author information
Abstract

Autism is a complex neuropsychiatric syndrome with a largely unknown etiology. Inflammation during pregnancy may represent a common pathway by which infections and other insults increase risk for the disorder. Hence, we investigated the association between early gestational C-reactive protein (CRP), an established inflammatory biomarker, prospectively assayed in maternal sera, and childhood autism in a large national birth cohort with an extensive serum biobank. Other strengths of the cohort included nearly complete ascertainment of pregnancies in Finland (N=1.2 million) over the study period and national psychiatric registries consisting of virtually all treated autism cases in the population. Increasing maternal CRP levels, classified as a continuous variable, were significantly associated with autism in offspring. For maternal CRP levels in the highest quintile, compared with the lowest quintile, there was a significant, 43% elevated risk. This finding suggests that maternal inflammation may have a significant role in autism, with possible implications for identifying preventive strategies and pathogenic mechanisms in autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders.
PMID: 23337946 [PubMed - in process] PMCID: PMC3633612 [Available on 2014/8/1]
Grant Support

__________________________________________________________


I wonder if any ex military women are having normal kids at all anymore!!!!!!!!!!

[sheme]

http://www.smh.com.au/national/healt...215-32snz.html

A link posted by fellow Avalonian in another thread. Thought I would pop it in here.

[Tesla_WTC_Solution]

Posted by sheme (here)
http://www.smh.com.au/national/healt...215-32snz.html

A link posted by fellow Avalonian in another thread. Thought I would pop it in here.

Thank you for this. Feel free to expand your post to include text if you like!
I appreciate the article it's very good!

[Ellisa]

Fragile X is understood well in its genetic transmission and outcome. There is genetic testing available for the detection of risk. Fragile X is usually carried by the female, but sometimes the male also has the marker. Then all children born to that couple will have the condition. It is not influenced by external factors and, as far as I know, there no treatment. Usually boys have the more serious form of the condition, though girls can be affected too. In some people the symptoms are very mild, even absent, and are unsuspected, though the person (usually female) may carry it.

Children with Fragile X can have autism, epilepsy, etc, They are just as likely as anyone else to develop these other conditions, but their Fragile X diagnosis would have been predictable, and is present at birth. It may also be present in siblings and relatives.

Autism and Fragile X are not the same, and do not have the same cause.

[Agape]

http://www.dailygalaxy.com/my_weblog...ct-stages.html

"Human Brain Develops in Distinct Stages of Genetic Activity" --New Discovery

The human brain develops with an exquisitely timed choreography marked by distinct patterns of gene activity at different stages from the womb to adulthood, report Yale researchers. The Yale team conducted a large-scale analysis of gene activity in cerebral neocortex —an area of the brain governing perception, behavior, and cognition — at different stages of development.

The team found that the human brain is more like a neighorhood, which is better defined by the community living within its borders than its buildings.
“The neighborhoods get built quickly and then everything slows down and the neocortex focuses solely on developing connections, almost like an electrical grid,” said Nenad Sestan, professor of neurobiology at Yale’s Kavli Institute for Neuroscience and senior author of the study. . “Later when these regions are synchronized, the neighborhoods begin to take on distinct functional identities like Little Italy or Chinatown.”

The analysis shows the general architecture of brain regions is largely formed in the first six months after conception by a burst of genetic activity, which is distinct for specific regions of the neocortex. This rush is followed by a sort of intermission beginning in the third trimester of pregnancy. During this period, most genes that are active in specific brain regions are quieted — except for genes that spur connections between all neocortex regions. Then in late childhood and early adolescence, the genetic orchestra begins again and helps subtly shape neocortex regions that progressively perform more specialized tasks, a process that continues into adulthood.

The analysis is the first to show this “hour glass” sketch of human brain development, with a lull in genetic activity sandwiched between highly complex patterns of gene expression, said Sestan. Intriguingly, say the researchers, some of the same patterns of genetic activity that define this human “hour glass” sketch were not observed in developing monkeys, indicating that they may play a role in shaping the features specific to human brain development.

The findings emphasize the importance of the proper interplay between genes and environment in the child’s earliest years after birth when the formation of synaptic connections between brain cells becomes synchronized, which shape how brain structures will be used later in life, said Sestan. For instance, disruptions of in synchronization of synaptic connections during child’s earliest years have been implicated in autism.

The neocortex, Latin for "new bark," is our third, newly human brain in terms of evolution. It is what makes possible our judgments and our knowledge of good and evil. It is also the site from which our creativity emerges and home to our sense of self.

The Neocortex writes Carl Sagan in Cosmos, is where "matter is transformed into consciousness." It comprises more than two-thirds of our brain mass. The realm of intuition and critical analysis,--it is the Neocortex where we have our ideas and inspirations, where we read and write, where we compose music or do mathematics. "It is the distinction of our species," writes Sagan,"the seat of our humanity. Civilization is the product of the cerebral cortex."

Each cubic millimeter of tissue in the neocortex, reports Michael Chorost in World Wide Mind, contains between 860 million and 1.3 billion synapses. Estimates of the total number of synapses in the neocortex range from 164 trillion to 200 trillion. The total number of synapses in the brain as a whole is much higher than that. The neocorex has the same number of neurons as a galaxy has stars: 100 billion.

Researcher sestimate that with current technology it would take 10,000 automated microscopes thirty years to map the connections between every neuron in a human brain, and 100 million terabytes of disk space to store the data.

Self-aware, language-using, tool-making brains are very new in the evolutionary timeline, some 200,000-years old. Most of the neurons in the neocortex have between 1,000 and 10,000 synaptic connections with other neurons. Elsewhere in the brain, in the cerebellum, one type of neuron has 150,000 to 200,000 synaptic connections with other neurons. Even the lowest of these numbers seems hard to believe. One tiny neuron can connect to 200,000 neurons.

The image at the top of the page shows the neocortex organised into thousands of columns of neurons. Each column has a diameter of 0.5mm and contains 10,000 neurons. The neocortex is also organised into 6 layers. In the background are other neurons making up the neocortical column.

Mihovil Pletikos, Andre ́ M.M. Sousa, and Goran Sedmak of Yale are co-lead authors of the Yale study. Other Yale authors are Kyle A. Meyer, Ying Zhu, Feng Cheng, Mingfeng Li and Yuka Imamura Kawasawa.

The work was funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, the James S. McDonnell Foundation, and the Kavli Foundation.