If Autism Is A Brain Disorder, Surely We Need To Look At The Brain?

Dr. Aditi Shankardass: If it is a brain disorder, surely we need to look at the brain!

Autism is one of the developmental disorders described as a brain based disorder in the presentation by Dr. Aditi Shankardass in which she makes the observation that if developmental disorders are brain disorders shouldn't we look at the brain in order to properly understand, diagnose and treat them?

"Despite the fact that each and every one of these disorders originates in the brain most of these disorders are diagnosed solely on the basis of observable behavior but diagnosing a brain disorder without actually looking at the brain is analogous to treating a patient with a heart problem based on their physical symptoms without even doing an EEG or a chest X-ray to look at the heart. It seems so intuitively to diagnose and treat a brain disorder accurately it would be necessary to look at the brain directly. Looking at behaviour alone can miss a vital piece of the puzzle and provide an incomplete or even a misleading picture of the child’s problems."

In addition to the EEG based program described by Dr. Shankardass the recent Stanford/Packard  MRI based study indicates that it may be possible to provide topographical imaging of brains  that can distinguish between the brains of persons with autistic disorder and those who are not autistic. The study authors also indicate that more severe autism brain differences are related to more severe autism.

If autism is a brain disorder, surely we need to look at the brain?

Lead Babies and Autism: Does Lead Plus Mercury Equal Autism?

Grandview Corners in Surrey BC is the location of a launch for the book Lead Babies by Joanna Cerazy, who has a Masters Degree in Educational Leadership a and Sandra Cottingham M.Sc. and Ph.D. and twenty plus years of classroom experience with regular students and students with special needs.

I have not yet read Lead Babies. The book is reviewed in an article by Alex Browne in the PeaceArchnews.com. Both educators noticed a rise in developmental problems including attention deficit disorder, learning disabilities, autism, delinquency and violence. They conducted research across a variety of research disciplines and concluded that lead was the culprit behind the increases of these developmental problems and disorders:

“We wanted to know what’s going on,” she said. “We started researching various toxins and realized that lead was causing it – that even a low level of lead exposure can cause very serious problems.”

While the toxic effects of lead have been known for years, Lead Babies gathers together the latest research concerning in utero transfer of lead from mother to baby, showing that lead – from a multitude of apparently harmless sources – can pass into the brain and other organs of unborn children.

The Alex Browne article indicates that there is also a section in the book dealing with mercury:

“But there’s a significant increase in the toxic effect of mercury when there is lead in people’s systems. There’s a synergistic effect. It’s a missing piece of the puzzle, one you might not see if you’re only looking at mercury. But lead is such a key piece.”

And lead is pervasive. It is all around us:

The lead industry is still flourishing, Cerazy and Cottingham report. Lead is an important component in many cosmetics, and is a key ingredient in plastics that are required to be bendable, including toys. It can even be found in some kinds of imported candy.

I do intend to read Lead Babies. I will be interested in seeing what the gathered research says about the harmful impact of lead on development. But I will pay particular attention to the section dealing with lead and mercury and their combined or synergistic effects.

Does lead and mercury equal autism? Lead Babies may not answer that question but it is not often that you see any mention of the possible synergistic effects of the many toxins with which we pollute ourselves ... and our children.

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Autism Results From Impaired Timing of "Learning Windows"; Critical Periods of Brain Plasticity

Takao Hensch, Ph.D., professor of molecular and cellular biology at Harvard University and professor of neurology at Children's Hospital Boston is the senior investigator of a team of scientists who have identified a protein, Otx2, which is necessary for learning. Otx2 works with other cells called parvalbumin to permit the brain to learn during important development windows. The Ivanhoe Medical Breakthroughs newswire release states the parvalbumin cells make connections in parts of the brain that process visual information and receive information from the eye.

These cells work with the Otx2 protein to encourage brain plasticity, the ability to learn:

After studying the function of parvalbumin cells in mice, Dr. Hensch and his colleagues found the Otx2 proteins are sent to these cells by the retina, triggering critical periods of brain plasticity.

Dr. Hensch said developmental disorders like autism are a result of impaired timing of these learning "windows," like the one during which children learn to read. He said he hopes the discovery of this protein will eventually lead to new treatments for disorders like autism, and brain injuries.

The study article, Experience-Dependent Transfer of Otx2 Homeoprotein into the Visual Cortex Activates Postnatal Plasticity, is published in Cell, Vol 134, 508-520, 08 August 2008.

autism