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 Oct 13 2006, 10:04 PM
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Admin Team
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From: United States
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QUOTE 10-13-2006--Scientists trying to unravel the mystery of autism
HACKENSACK, N.J. -- A single word -- autism -- changed Christine Bakter's life.
It explained her son Alex's strange behavior. It clouded her dreams for her second son, Ben, who was just 3 weeks old when Alex was diagnosed. Would he, too, have autism?
And it plunged her family into a world of scientific research -- a world to which they have contributed as much as they've received.
Autism researchers are pushing to identify the genetic changes linked to autism. They're unraveling the brain's role in reading facial expressions, understanding spoken language and making friends. They're trying to develop effective ways to teach those affected.
They're helped by people like the Bakters who -- in the midst of their own difficult lives -- are offering themselves for research.
Baby Ben was enrolled in a study of 300 siblings of children with autism -- children who are 50 times as likely as the general population to develop the disorder. Alex is signing up for a study on computer software that trains autistic children to make eye contact and read facial expressions. The whole family has given blood samples for the Autism Genome Project, the largest-ever genetic study of autism.
But despite dramatic increases in research and funding, surprisingly little is known about autism. It still has no known cause or cure.
"Autism is an extremely complex disorder," says James Millonig of Rutgers University and the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. He is a mouse geneticist and one of the state's top autism researchers. "The more ways we attack it scientifically, the better off we are."
Among the questions researchers are trying to answer:
"¢ Why is the number of cases climbing, and how fast is it rising? Changes in the way autism is defined have caused many more children, once labeled mentally retarded or otherwise disabled, to be diagnosed with autism. Even allowing for that increase, it's clear that the rate of autism is rising. But how fast? Do certain groups of people, or locales, have more autism?
"¢ Which genes, what environmental factors and what combinations of the two cause autism? Is a child born with a "susceptibility" to autism that is triggered by a virus or a certain chemical? Can steps be taken to identify at-risk children and protect them?
"¢ What happens in the brain that results in an autistic person's inability to "read" a face or take in social cues? Why the hand-flapping, finger tics and rocking? What action of the brain cells allows us to listen and respond with meaning, inflection and expression?
"¢ Could screening tests identify a child before symptoms develop? Can differences in blood, brain images or even head circumference be used for diagnosis, so that treatment can begin as early as possible?
"¢ And what alternative treatments are effective? Do diets free of wheat products help? How about treatments to strip metals from the body or high-pressure oxygen chambers, vitamin injections or acupuncture?
GENETIC RESEARCH
The research is taking place in labs across the nation.
At the Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine, a joint institute of Rutgers and University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in Piscataway, researchers are examining thousands of mice with a genetic defect similar to one found in humans with autism. They are hoping to understand the effects of this mutation on their behavior and brain chemistry.
In the New Jersey Language and Autism Genetics Study at Rutgers, cell DNA is scanned for gene changes shared by people with autism and their relatives with language impairments. This may pinpoint the genes involved with language use -- and one day lead to a genetic test for autism.
"Trying to understand autism is like trying to do one of those really hard jigsaw puzzles," says Linda Brzustowicz, a professor of genetics at Rutgers and a psychiatrist at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. "Anytime you get a few more pieces in place, it makes others easier to fit in."
Most research focuses on the causes of autism.
Clearly, genes play an important role. Virtually every special school for children with autism has at least one pair of siblings. Studies of identical twins have shown that if one twin is diagnosed with autism, nine out of 10 times the other will be, too.
"This is a highly genetic disorder," says Emanuel DiCicco-Bloom, professor of neuroscience and cell biology at Robert Wood Johnson, part of UMDNJ.
But it's not a simple matter of one gene being passed on by both parents. Rather, several genes must mutate simultaneously for autism to develop -- "at least three genes, if not up to 15," he says.
Read More...
By Lindy Washburn
The Record (Hackensack N.J
SOURCE:-
Copyright 1999 - 2004 Seacoast Newspapers,
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~Lindsay, Forum Super Administrator   Hotlines
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Oct 20 2006, 10:03 AM
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Senior Moderator
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Recently it was reported in the UK Press that boys are more prone to autism than girs; are likely to be blond with blue eyes; high levels of testosterone in the womb increases the likelihood of a boy having autistic tendancies.
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Lizzy Any change is scary even when we want it |
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Nov 23 2006, 01:11 PM
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Newbie
Group: Newbie
Posts: 15
Joined: 23-November 06
Member No.: 11,872
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I believe I am slightly autistic, could someone please tell me if my symptoms are severe or even relavent, and whether I should bother seeking advise:
The only emotion I feel is satisfaction, anger, and brief happyness when seeing my gf for the first time after not seeing her for a while.
I find it hard to communicate.
I love routine, if I am not living in a routine, I become quite mad and cant cope with life.
I get physically anggressive with small things. (e.g. shouting at the top of my voice, throughing things ect)
I have to write lists for absalutely everything, from daily activities, to travel, to shopping (when I say shopping I dont mean a shopping list, I mean a list telling me how to shop: leave house, get money, go to shop, put stuff in basket, go to till ect). I fear I will soon write a list telling me how to go to the toilet.
I have been diagnosed with dyslexia, is this at all related?
I cant show what little emotion I have.
I can NEVER EVER understand other peoples emotions.
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Mar 27 2007, 08:01 AM
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Senior Member
 Billards Champion!
Group: Senior Member
Posts: 590
Joined: 10-January 07
From: UK
Member No.: 13,213
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QUOTE(Lizzy @ Oct 20 2006, 10:03 AM)  Recently it was reported in the UK Press that boys are more prone to autism than girs; are likely to be blond with blue eyes; high levels of testosterone in the womb increases the likelihood of a boy having autistic tendancies. My son atends an asd school and no more than average are blonde with blue eyes, my son has brown hair and eyes and the boy/girl ratio nationally is approx 4/1, Autism used to called An extention of maleness, due to the fact it hits more boys than girls, out of approx 80 pupils in my sons school there's only a handful of girls. Sam the Beast, It sound very much like Autism, you would have to see a proffessional, Do you have a Phychiatrist? If not your GP should be able to refer you to an adult Autism diagnosis team (if your in the UK, if not, something similar).
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Insanity Is Hereditary - You Get It From Your Kids!  |
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Scientists trying to unravel the mystery of Autism |
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