Genes Associated With Autism Also Related to Schizophrenia

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Utah, which as YANKEEGIRL noted, "has the highest autism rates in the country" also has one of the lowest rates of uptake of pediatric vaccines in the country: thirty-fifth, I think.
Scientists do not "blame this crisis solely on genetics." For example, its been clear for years that much of the apparent increase in the prevalence of ASD is due simply increased awareness of ASD and dramatically changed diagnostic criteria; about one-fourth (26%) of the apparent increase was due simply to also assigning a diagnosis of ASD to children who would previously have been considered only mentally retarded.
Factors that do apparently increase the risk of ASD include metabolic syndromes in the mother during pregnancy (hypertension, diabetes, or obesity), increasing paternal age at the time of conception (which increases the prevalence of mutations in the sperm), and other factors that affect early prenatal development. Its clear now that children who apparently regress into ASD in their second year of life in fact were affected long before their parents could detect any problem: In fact, the earliest brain scans of children who went on to develop ASD show that their brains were already abnormal by the first time point (6 months) and children who went on to develop ASD were neurologically different than their typically developing peers by one month of age.

be patienz of CA 6:20PM April 22, 2012

Some autistic children had simply the false intestinal flora: bad bacterias sending toxins into their brains. Their bad intestinal flora where changed to normal, and now, they have normal understanding!
I personally had a period of my life where I could learn nothing more: I was autistic. Fortunately, I was then 6 month long under antibiotics, for a tuberculosis. Immediately, I could learn again anything I want, as before!
Never thought that toxins, bacterias or viruses in our heads could change our ability to think?

Jean-Francois morf, Charrat, Switzerland 3:34AM April 20, 2012

Some autistic children had simply the false intestinal flora: bad bacterias sending toxins into their brains. Their bad intestinal flora where changed to normal, and now, they have normal understanding!
I personally had a period of my life where I could learn nothing more: I was autistic. Fortunately, I was then 6 month long under antibiotics, for a tuberculosis. Immediately, I could learn again anything I want, as before!
Never thought that toxins, bacterias or viruses in our heads could change our ability to think?

Jean-Francois morf, Charrat, Switzerland 3:32AM April 20, 2012

There CANNOT be an epidemic of a genetic condition. It is impossible. The CDC recently announced that 1 in 88 children and 1 in 54 boys in the US has autism. 1 in 32 boys in Utah which has the highest autism rates in the country. There's been a 78% increase since 2002. Clusters have been reported in CA and MN. Clearly something toxic in the child's environment is triggering autistic regression in a subset of children. Scientists cannot blame this crisis solely on genetics.

Yankeegirl of MA 5:44PM April 19, 2012