Autism

[Michaelangelica]

What is it?

Autism is a behaviorally defined syndrome of

unknown etiology associated with poor social interaction,

disordered language, and atypical responses to people, objects,

and events.

The syndrome is classically manifested by severe

disturbances in cognition, language, and behavior that appear

before the age of 30 months.

In some cases, there is an apparent hyperarousal state.

Autistic children often exhibit ritualized

body movements, repeated touching and sniffing of objects,

ritualistic ordering, checking, and collecting, and insistence on

precisely following routines.

ScienceWeek

 

Autism used to be called "Childhood Schizophrenia"

 

"Trust hormone" now tied to "mind reading," and increasingly, autism

Trust hormone” now tied to “mind reading”—and increasingly, autism

 

An unusual hormone has a growing list of documented powers, some of them surprising—and intriguing to scientists hunting autism treatments.

 

Dec. 13, 2006

Special to World Science

 

Researchers in recent years have intensely studied a hormone thought to be relevant to au*ism, a disorder that has stirred growing

alarm.

And the longer the scrutiny of the hormone, oxytocin, goes on, the longer grows a list of sometimes surprising powers attributed

to it. These are prompting scientists to propose the chemical might help treat autism.

 

The "Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test" involves viewing 36 photos of eyes, and judging which emo*tion or mental state each pair represents. A version of the test can be taken here.

Last year, one group identified it as a hormone that helps us to trust.

Now, researchers say it may also aid us with “mind reading,” or the ability to gauge other people’s emo*tions based on subtle social cues.

 

Oxytocin has long been known to regulate social interactions, among other things. And autism, which involves marked social difficulties, has been linked to low oxytocin levels.

 

Thus, the authors of two recent studies suggest oxytocin might help treat autism. One team also re*ported that such a treatment improved autistic patients’ ability to detect emotion in speech.

:shrug:

Oxytocin (Greek: "quick birth") is a mammalian hormone that also acts as a neurotransmitter in the brain. In women, it is released mainly after distension of the cervix and vagina during labor, and after stimulation of the nipples, facilitating birth and breastfeeding, respectively. Oxytocin is released during orgasm in both sexes. In the brain, oxytocin is involved in social recognition and bonding, and might be involved in the formation of trust between people.

Oxytocin - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

:(

 

 

An Overview of Autism

What is Autism?

 

Autism is one of five disorders that fall under the umbrella of "Pervasive Development Disorders (PDD.)" The five disorders are Autism, Aspergers Disorder, Retts Syndrome, Child Disentegrative Disorder, and Pervasive Development Disorder- Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS). (Batshaw, 2002) Because Autism and other PDDs describe such a range of differences, "Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD)" is the term increasingly used to describe individuals who characteristics of Autism. These individuals are sometimes said to be "on the spectrum." The three major areas of difference between typically developing individuals and people with Autism are communication, social interaction, and behavior (Batshaw, 2002). Not surprisingly, these three areas are heavily interlinked with each other in every day life. Some people with Autism are non-verbal, some are brilliant in mathematics or music, and some get PhDs. Each person is a unique individual with unique abilities and differences, just like any typically developing person. Autism affects some people very little, and some people quite a bit.

 

Diagnosis

 

Diagnosis is made by a specialist. There is no blood test to determine if an individual is Autistic, nor is there any imagining technique. Diagnosis is made solely on the basis of behavioral observations, which are compared to the criteria in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (IV Edition) or DSM-IV for short (Batshaw, 2002). To see a complete listing of the criteria, see http://www.autism-biomed.org/dsm-iv.htm.

 

For parents, the symptoms of Autism can be very confusing and cause great concern. Raising any child presents challenges, and a child with Autism is certainly no easier. According to the National Alliance for Autism Research (NAAR,) the following warning signs warrant evaluation by a specialist:

 

* Not babbled or cooed by one year

* Not gestured, pointed or waved by one year

* Not spoken a single word by 16 months

* Not spoken a two-word phrase by two years

* Experiences any loss of any language skills at any age

 

NAAR also stipulates that the following concerns warrant a conversation with a healthcare provider about an Autism evaluation:

 

* Does not respond to his or her name

* Cannot tell or describe what he or she wants

* Experience any language delays

* Does not follow directions at all

* Appear at times to have a hearing impairment

* Does not know how to play with toys

* Has poor eye contact

* Appears to be in his or her own world

* Does not smile socially

* Has odd movement patterns

* Has unusual attachment to toys or other objects

* Regularly lines up toys or other items

 

(http://www.naar.org, 2005)

 

Autism is often misdiagnosed as attention defecit disorder (ADD), attention defecit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), oppositional defiance disorder, cognitive disabilities (mental retardation), childhood schizophrenia, sensory impairments, communication disorders, and neurodegenerative disorders. It is important to rule out and differentiate between disorders with the aid of specialists. (Batshaw, 2002)

 

How Common is Autism?

 

NAAR reports that Autism is on the rise, in fact 10 times more common today than a mere 10 years ago. Today, the disorder is detectable in 1 in every 166 births. (naar.org, 2005) The reason for the increase is complicated and unknown. Early and comprehensive evaluation accounts partially for the higher incidence. (Kalb, 2005) New research shows strong genetic predisposition as well as a complementary environmental interaction playing a part in the rise (Batshaw, 2002, Kalb, 2005). Currently, children are usually diagnosed by 2-3 years of age (naar.org). Differences are often retrospectively detectable at birth, with parents often voicing concern by 12-18 months (Batshaw, 2002). Irrespective of high prevalence and the high impact of Autistic Spectrum Disorder, Autism research is pathetically under-funded (naar.org, 2005).

 

Who Discovered Autism?

 

In 1943, Leo Kanner wrote a paper describing Autism as a specific disorder. Kanner used the term "Autism," a term that was coined in 1911 by a Swiss Psychiatrist named Eugen Bleuler. Bleuler used the Greek root word "autos" with means "self" to describe an individual who seemed to attend only to some inner world. Kanner's description of Autism was used to create the defining criteria used today to diagnose Autism. (naar.org, 2005)

 

What is it like to have Autism?

 

Oftentimes, Autism is described in terms of how a person with Autism appears to other people. This viewpoint, although valuable for diagnosis, is limiting and promotes misunderstanding. The three areas of difference are outlined below in terms of how it feels to deal with Autism as a person who has Autism.

 

People with Autism have difficulty reading social cues, such as subtleties in language, gestures, facial expressions, intonation, eye contact, and body language. (Batshaw, 2002) People who are typically developing use this type of cueing tirelessly; forever sending and receiving messages that are frequently richer than the plain language that accompanies such cues.

 

Misreading or missing even a tiny intonation can change messages entirely. To understand such difficulty, one only has to remember how carefully crafted e-mail messages must be in order to send a message that would be simple to send using verbal speech in a face to face setting. Since people who don't have Autism are constantly gathering and sending social cues, it is difficult for people with Autism to engage in conversation, make friends, and perhaps most importantly, learn language.

 

If a person is unable to integrate visual stimulus (gestures, facial expression, body language) with auditory stimulus (speech, intonation), learning language becomes a difficult task indeed. Not only is language confusing and overwhelming, but it is unpredictable. On top of this, each person has their own style, speed, and accent.

Each person's face appears different. About 50% of children diagnosed with Autism will achieve verbal speech. (Batshaw, 2002) Some will use sign language, some will use gestures, some will use keyboards, and some will use PECS ( a way of exchanging pictures to relay ideas).

A few people with Autism will be unable to communicate.

 

"[The] characteristics described in the DSM-IV are just that: they are descriptions of coping behaviors and not descriptions, necessarily, of innate orientation." (Prince-Hughes, 2004) Because of difficulty associated with communicating and interacting with the confusing world of people, people with Autism develop behaviors that seem strange to typically developing people who don't understand. Many behaviors seem to have root in bringing order and predictability to the lives of people with Autism. This coping is understandable, since no person likes to live in chaos. Unfortunately, behavior that is not typical often leads to rejection, which gives people with Autism fewer opportunities to learn social reciprocity and language. This only leads to more coping behaviors, which leads to more isolation.

KSC Fitness Centers - An Overview of Autism

[mcewen]

There are as many 'causes' as there are theorists to discover them, but infinitely more 'cures' by others.

Cheers

[InfiniteNow]

There are as many 'causes' as there are theorists to discover them, but infinitely more 'cures' by others.

Cheers

 

What exactly is this? :confused: Care to elaborate how it applies to the post immediately prior?

[mcewen]

hmm, newbie - perhaps I'm posting in the wrong bit of the 'thread'. My response or comment was with reference to the 'first' post, about the oxytocin being identified as a possible 'treatment' for autism. Apologies if I'm putting this in the wrong 'spot.'

Cheers

Whitterer on Autism

[Michaelangelica]

There are as many 'causes' as there are theorists to discover them, but infinitely more 'cures' by others.

Cheers

Yes, in one reseach paper I read nealy everthing "worked' (for treatment).

 

One thing is interesting a Gluten Free Diet helps many Autistic children as it does Down's syndrome. Google it and see.

 

There is a Genetic Test now for Gluten sensitivity.

[mcewen]

Thanks for that, the CFGF diet is widely used with some startling results for some. However, one of my little chaps is 'neophobic' = eats less than 20 foods [7 currently] so if I cut anything out he might fade away completely!

All the best for the New Year and thanks for the tip

[Michaelangelica]

Thanks for that, the CFGF diet is widely used with some startling results for some. However, one of my little chaps is 'neophobic' = eats less than 20 foods [7 currently] so if I cut anything out he might fade away completely!

All the best for the New Year and thanks for the tip

 

Do you have him on vitamin supliments?

 

I worked as a nurse with autistic kids 30 years ago

 

I just read the blog reference you gave. I ddn't read it all (Is it you?)

but was stopped in my tracks by this

“What is the badest smell dear?”

“It is you! You are the badest smell. You are worster than peanuts!”

Do some/one/all, autistic children have heightened sense of smell?

See the fragrance & perfume thread (and check your CP rep)

 

PS

This NIH study is something to look at

A version of a gene has been linked to autism in families that have more than one child with the disorder.

Inheriting two copies of this version more than doubled a child’s risk of developing an autism spectrum disorder,

. . .

While most previous studies had focused on genes expressed in the brain, Levitt’s team saw a clue in the fact that some people with autism also have gastrointestinal, immunological or neurological symptoms in addition to behavioral impairments. They focused on a gene that affects such peripheral functions . ..

WebWire® | Gene Linked to Autism in Families with More Than One Affected Child

 

The stomach has its own brain according to Dr. Dean Edell.

( seen in The Odd Body 2 S juan)

 

NEURODEVELOPMENTAL DAMAGE IN AUTISM: AN INFECTION-BASED MODEL

Exposure of the fetus and newborn infant around the time of

birth ("perinatal exposure") to infectious agents and toxins has

been linked to the pathogenesis of certain human neuropsychiatric

disorders, particularly *autism.

But the mechanisms by which environmental factors such as infectious agents and toxins interact with developing immune and neural systems to create neurodevelopmental disturbances are only poorly understood.

Autism disorders occur as frequently as 1 in 500 children, a

rate that may be increasing in some geographical regions.

ScienceWeek

 

Here:

Entrez PubMed

are 15 papers on Borna virus and Autism

eg

1: Lancaster K, Dietz DM, Moran TH, Pletnikov MV.

Abstract Abnormal social behaviors in young and adult rats neonatally infected with Borna disease virus.

Behav Brain Res. 2007 Jan 10;176(1):141-8. Epub 2006 Jul 21.

PMID: 16860408 [PubMed - in process]

2: Libbey JE, Sweeten TL, McMahon WM, Fujinami RS.

Abstract Autistic disorder and viral infections.

J Neurovirol. 2005 Feb;11(1):1-10. Review.

PMID: 15804954 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

[Michaelangelica]

Drugs and autism

Supringly small number of good studies.

Those that have been done often are in very small samples

Very few, if any, drugs help a lot

SEE

Pharmacologic Treatment of Behavioral Symptoms in Autism and Pervasive Developmental Disorders/Robert L. Findling

D'Alliance

 

You may have to register.

It is painless.

[Michaelangelica]

Autism-spectrum disorder reversed in mice - health - 08 February 2007 - New Scientist

Autism-spectrum disorder reversed in mice

Movie Camera

 

* 19:00 08 February 2007

* NewScientist.com news service

 

 

* Is YouTube just what the doctor ordered?

* 02 January 2007

* 'X' marks the spot in hunt for autism genes

* 08 September 2006

* Older dads boost risk of autistic children

* 04 September 2006

* Search New Scientist

* Contact us

 

Web Links

 

* Rett Syndrome, NINDS

* Rett Syndrome Research Foundation

* Adrian Bird, University of Edinburgh

* Science

 

The symptoms of Rett syndrome – a genetic disorder that causes mental retardation and impairs movement – have been fully reversed in a mouse model of the disease, researchers report.

 

The findings give hope that scientists might one day find a cure for the condition and related illnesses, including autism. But experts caution that developing such treatments for humans will take many years.

 

Rett syndrome is almost exclusively confined to girls – about 1 in every 10,000 - 15,000 girls born in the US develop the condition. The distressing disorder typically becomes apparent by age two and involves a regression in language skills and the loss of mobility.

[Michaelangelica]

News in Science - Autism gene scan unveils two new clues - 19/02/2007

Autism gene scan unveils two new clues

Will Dunham

Reuters

 

 

Monday, 19 February 2007

 

DNA

Up to 90% of autism may have a genetic basis (Image: iStockphoto)

The most extensive findings to date on the genetics of autism has pinpointed two new genetic links that may predispose children to develop the complex brain disorder.

The study incriminated a gene called neurexin 1 as a possible susceptibility gene for autism.

 

This gene is involved with glutamate, a brain chemical previously implicated in autism that plays a role in early brain development.

 

A previously unidentified region of chromosome 11 also was implicated.

 

Earlier research in this field has identified regions on chromosomes 2, 7 and 17 as having a link with autism.

 

The glutamate system seems to pop up in a lot of medical things I read these days.

Anyone know what it is?

Does it have anything to do with MSG?

[Buffy]

A pretty amazing story of an autistic woman is running on CNN today (I imagine CNN International too). She communicates through a keyboard and is absolutely lucid, but cannot speak and has poor motor control otherwise. She even has a presence on Second Life that she's built to mimic how she appears and acts in real life!

 

The linked page also has the video that's running today.

 

Differently abled,

Buffy

[CraigD]

A pretty amazing story of an autistic woman is running on CNN today (I imagine CNN International too).

I saw it – with all he Autistic Ed folk and video recorders in my family, there was little chance I could miss it.

 

As I often am, I had misgivings about how the documentary was produced and edited. Clearly, many of the scenes had been audio edited to make Amanda appear more typically conversationally responsive – if you carefully watch her fingers you’ll notice that, in many of the shots, she is not typing enough to even trigger shorthand commands to produce the synthesizes speech responses to Sanjay Gupta’s questions – in one shot, he asks a question, and she “replies” without touching the keyboard at all!

 

I wish documentary makers would not do this sort of thing. In addition to being unrealistic, it engenders suspicions of a “man behind the curtain” among the observant and skeptical.

 

None the less, I was amazed by what I saw, and plan to learn as much as I can about this amazing, atypical woman. It had a big impact on the my autistic educator friends and family – they’re already planning to put keyboards in the hands of as many of their kids as possible. Hopefully, the kids, educators, and keyboards will survive the experience, and, maybe, some success come of it.

 

Amanda Baggs :shrug: . CNN :thumbs_do .

[Buffy]

I agree, but really, CNN is in the entertainment business, and it was "edited to fit the time allowed." Hopefully Nova or The Independent Lens (thank goodness for PBS!) or some other slightly more open venue will take this up and move it forward...

 

I too got the feeling that the communication wasn't exactly "interactive", but I think that gets at some of the nature of autism (which admittedly know almost nothing about). Communicating with her is probably nothing like talking to Stephen Hawking, but that's not easy either for different reasons. Hidden behind a forum like this one, it sounds like no one could tell the difference. That's where some of the most interesting information lies which CNN did not have the time or patience to pursue.

 

Lucidity is not intelligence,

Buffy

[Michaelangelica]

Concern over autism diagnosis

 

Mark Metherell

March 5, 2007

 

ONE IN every 120 school children in Australia suffers some form of autism, but many can go for years before getting the therapy and specialised schooling they need, a survey has found.

 

The new figures on the prevalence of autism, the mental affliction that is characterised by an inability to communicate or respond normally with others, have prompted calls for faster diagnosis and specialist schooling for the estimated 10,000 children with the condition.

 

It is estimated that 125,000 Australians, including adults, have an autism disorder.

Health - Life & Style Home - smh.com.au

[Michaelangelica]

Interesting that they are finding "gut' problems with autism.

 

I know there is a very high % of coeliacs among Down syndrome kids.

One psychiatrist told me that if Down's syndrome babies were put on a gluten free diet from birth there would be no intellectual retardation

 

“In spite of so many years of assumptions that a brain disorder like this is not treatable, we’re helping kids get better. So it can’t just be genetic, prenatal, hardwired, and hopeless,” says Harvard pediatric neurologist Martha Herbert, author of a 14,000-word paper in the journal Clinical Neuropsychiatry that reconceptualizes the universe of autism, pulling the brain down from its privileged perch as an organ isolated from the rest of the body. Herbert is well suited to this task, a synthetic thinker who wrote her dissertation on the developmental psychologist Jean Piaget and who then went to medical school late, in her early thirties.

 

“I no longer see autism as a disorder of the brain but as a disorder that affects the brain,” Herbert says. “It also affects the immune system and the gut. One very striking piece of evidence many of us have noticed is that when autistic children go in for certain diagnostic tests and are told not to eat or drink anything ahead of time, parents often report their child’s symptoms improve—until they start eating again after the procedure.

 

If symptoms can improve in such a short time frame simply by avoiding exposure to foods, then we’re looking at some kind of chemically driven ‘software’—perhaps immune system signals—that can change fast.

This means that at least some of autism probably comes from a kind of metabolic encephalopathy—a systemwide process that affects the brain, just like cirrhosis of the liver affects the brain.”

Quite a long detailed article

Autism: It’s Not Just in the Head | Health & Medicine | DISCOVER Magazine

[Monomer]

I remember reading about autistic kids having more harmful bacteria in their gut compared with non autistic kids.

 

Professor Gibson told the annual British Association Festival of Science in Norwich that autistic children often suffered with bowel problems such as diarrhoea and constipation, suggesting that they may not have a normal collection of microbes in their guts.

 

His team compared the bacteria in faeces samples taken from 50 autistic children with those taken from 50 non-autistic subjects, and found that the samples from autistic children had raised levels of the bacterium clostridium.

 

AutismConnect - British study links autism to gut bacteria

 

 

Clostridium tetani is an ubiquitous anaerobic bacillus that produces a potent neurotoxin. Intestinal colonization by C. tetani, and subsequent neurotoxin release, have been demonstrated in laboratory animals which were fed vegetative cells. The vagus nerve is capable of transporting tetanus neurotoxin (TeNT) and provides a route of ascent from the intestinal tract to the CNS. This route bypasses TeNT's normal preferential binding sites in the spinal cord, and therefore the symptoms of a typical tetanus infection are not evident. Once in the brain, TeNT disrupts the release of neurotransmitters by the proteolytic cleavage of synaptobrevin, a synaptic vesicle membrane protein. This inhibition of neurotransmitter release would explain a wide variety of behavioral deficits apparent in autism.

 

Entrez PubMed

[Michaelangelica]

Sorry missed I missed the show Buffy but thanks

is it still on the web?

 

Scary about gut bacteria and viruusus.

How can you test for that without an intrusive bi-opsy?

Owl's Ability to Link Sight and Sound Could Be Key to Treating Attention Disorders

 

From Scientific American:

 

SOwlights and sounds fill the world, presenting a panoply of possible foci for the brain. Yet most animals can hone in on whatever sight most demands interest. Then the sounds associated with that sight--be it a loved one talking or a tasty meal skittering through the undergrowth--become all the clearer. This is attention and new research shows how an owl's brain establishes the state. It also provides tantalizing evidence that brains from across the animal kingdom work the same way.

 

Neurologists Daniel Winkowski and Eric Knudsen of Stanford University wired 12 owls with electrodes in the areas of their brains that process either visual or auditory input. Each region literally maps the world of sound or sight, determining whether it comes from up or down, left or right. Sending a small electrical charge into the owl's visual brain region--the so-called arcopallial gaze fields--caused it to move its head and eyes in a particular direction. When a simultaneous audio stimulus matched that direction, the owl's brain responded more strongly to that noise. It also blocked out competing noises from other directions. Owls are already extremely gifted at tuning in a particular sound, the authors note in their paper published in the current issue of Nature, but pairing a sound with a sight enhanced that ability even further.

 

More here.

3quarksdaily: January 2006