Autism is a developmental disorder affecting communication,
social interaction and age appropriate play. Recent research by the Johns
Hopkins University School of Medicine has linked neurological inflammation to
the pathophysiology of autism. Although they are unsure of whether or not it is
beneficial, studies of post mortem autistic brains reveal abnormal levels of
cytokines and chemokines as well as apparent inflammation. They believe that some day inflammation markers in the cerebrospinal fluid could be used as a diagnostic test for autism.
A review article in the Journal of Neuroinflammation, links
mast cell disruption of the blood brain barrier to prenatal stress associated
with diagnosis of autism. When mast cells are activated, neuroinflammation
ensues and is also crucial to causing seizures associated with autism. Even
though these processes are occurring, novel treatment ideas are in their
infancy, and the role of inflammation in autism is still widely disputed in the
scientific realm.
John Hopkins believes that this meuroinflammation was caused by microglia and astroglia while mast cells are mainly responsible according to the Journal of Neuroinflammation. Until concensus can be reached on how neuroinflammation contributes to autism, more common risk factors for the development of autism like genetics and fetal stress remain as the accepted causes.
John Hopkins Study- http://www.news-medical.net/news/2004/11/15/6289.aspx
Journal of Neuroinflammation Review-http://www.jneuroinflammation.com/content/8/1/168
This area is really interesting and complicated, i will love to look for more information. i think it will be awesome if you can figure out such bad diseases in early stages so people can live longer and with a better life quality
ReplyDeleteThis is really interesting. I never thought of Autism as an inflammatory disease, always just as a genetic disorder. It would be great to be able to diagnose autism through the inflammation markers found in the CSF. Maybe through this we would make progress towards bettering the life of autistic people and treating them. Who knows what the future will bring with this discovery.
ReplyDeleteDId the article mention anything about the 'prenatal stress' that was linked to the mast cell destruction? Specifically, was it something that the mother could have avoided? I think this is really interesting because if this stress can be avoided, then maybe there will be less cases of autism.
ReplyDeleteI don't remember any explanation of what a mother could avoid during a pregnancy to reduce the stress of the fetus. It also didn't mention whether or not these mothers had adequate pre natal care which is something that I would be interested to know as well! Really interesting stuff!
ReplyDeleteI think there is a solid case to be made for a role of inflammation in the onset of autism. Think about it...autism presents as a spectrum of disorders, and even the job of classifying what is and is not autism is a bit of a chore. Considering the broad range of associated factors involved, it could very well be that inflammation in the brain could be altering unknown developmental cues (which can happen for a long period of time, as the brain is constantly developing on different levels throughout childhood and adolescence) leading to an austim spectrum disorder (ASD). However, there is so much that could be going on in the development of autism that it likely would involve more than one factor...but inflammation should be one of those considerations!
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