Till now medical theories have linked autism with vaccines but this has now been proven a myth because a new study is leading scientists to believe they may have finally discovered what causes the disease that affects 1 in 68 children to be born with autism spectrum disorder. Experiments on rodents have observed that the root cause of autism may be excess synapses or brain connections which result in miscommunication among neurons in the developing area of the brain that is linked to learning impairments.
The study published in the journal Nature communications by senior author Azad Bonni head of the Department of Neuroscience at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, felt that "An increased number of synapses creates miscommunication among neurons in the developing brain that correlates with impairments in learning, although we don’t know how,”
Besides probing the vaccine angle, earlier studies have linked autism to the decline of the autoimmune system where autism tested children were found to have inflammation in the brain. However, the recent study of the root cause of autism will provide more in-depth understanding and knowledge of how the disease actually works. Studies also liked how neuron switches called cytokines were always in ON mode. It is the immune system that produces cytokines whose job is to organize attacks against disease-causing pathogens. The studies deeply felt that autistic children had inflamed brains.
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Autism or autism spectrum disorder as it is also known as a neurodevelopment disease that affects the neurons in the brain. Although one of the causes were attributed to poor lifestyle during pregnancy or brain inflammation at birth or that it is genetically hereditary. Poor environmental conditions and influences such as medication, food, chemicals, stress, and hormones are also considered prime factors of causing the disease during the stage when the child is in the womb.
Autism has been linked with almost 1000 gene mutations in the body. It was only last year that research at the University of North Carolina found for the very first time how a mutation turned off and on a gene switch linked autism. The study discovered an enzyme called UBE3A or Ubiquitin-protein ligase E3A necessary for brain development which was constantly being switched o in children with autism. The autism mutation was destroying the regulatory mechanism resulting in the enzyme constantly switching on making UBE3A hyperactive causing abnormal brain development. This also could explain the reason why autistic children tend to be smarter. This was also proved by studies that child prodigies had autistic traits.
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According to the new study which says people suffering from autism may have an excess of brain neurons or connection, the root cause was found in the guise of a malfunctioning gene and was called a ubiquity ligase required for attaching a molecule tag to proteins which regulate the proteins in the brain. A ubiquity ligase was like an organizer telling the cell how to react with other similar tagged proteins and whether it should be discarded or tined down. This resulted in confusion and chaos. Questions were then asked if these should be removed at all and rerouted to another entire to another part of the cell.
At Washington University, scientists removed a ubiquitin gene RNF8 of the area in mice belonging to one group while another group remained the same. It was found that the Mice with the gene removed showed an excess of 50 more neurons or synapses than the other mice in the study group. The electrical mechanism or switch was measured in the neuron and was found to be twice as active as those with normal functioning cells.
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As ASD causes problems in motor skills such as language, movement, and attention in the cerebellum, the research even had trained mice to link the action of blowing smoke to the eye with a blinking light. Just one week after this, the normal group of mice closed their eyes 75% of the time. The mice with their neuron removed closed their eyes only 13th of the time.
Although scientists felt that such behavior of mice who never shut their eyes in spite of being trained couldn’t exactly be associated with human autism, they felt it was a huge stepping stone to understanding the disease and what could be possibly causing it. There was a definite link between synapses and the way autistic patients behaved and this could serve as the foundation for medical treatment that actually treated autism rather than suppresses it.
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In earlier studies, scientists also were of the opinion that a gene that had the ability to increase brain power was also linked to autism. Another research explained how genetic mutations linked to autism was passed down form generations that bypassed the evolutionary procedure that strict version of the Body Ecology program six months to two years before conceiving their child was supposed to eliminate the negative or mutated genes. This might have due to ti the fact that same genes that caused autistic behavior was also the gene that was giving people higher brain power, bigger brains, imported sensory perception and decision making abilities.
According to Martha Herbert M.D., Ph.D., Massachusetts General Hospital, Autistic chider had bigger heads. “Multiple researchers have now found that children with autism tend to have heads that are larger than normal. A number of researchers have also found that head size increases after birth. When you look at the brains of these children with large heads using an MRI scan, they usually look normal to the unaided eye. Yet they have autism.”
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Dr. Stewart recommends that both parents embark on a healthy lifestyle in the prenatal stage. Both, in fact, should undergo the strict ecology body program up to 2 years prior to child conception. With fewer toxins the result of a healthy nourishing diet, both will then stand a great chance of passing on all the benefits of good health to a child. The healthy energy acquired in prenatal stage could lead to a child enjoying good health throughout their life.
Fighter autism and the new studies are now finding answers to understanding the disease better. The ecology of health and healing system has always leaned towards nature for the answers to autism. At present, short-term drugs possess side effects and suppress symptoms of autism without treating the real underlying causes. The new research will help derive long-term medication that targets the root source of autism for improving health. One of the main reasons to bad health is poor nutrition, excessive use of antibiotics and a diet high in sugar.
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