AUTISM is a puzzling phenomenon. In its pure form it is an inability to understand the emotional responses of others that is seen in people of otherwise normal–sometimes above normal–intelligence. However, it is often associated with other problems, and can also appear in mild and severe forms. This variability has led many people to think of it as a spectrum of symptoms rather than a single, clear-cut syndrome. And that variability makes it hard to work out what causes it.
There is evidence of genetic influence, but no clear pattern of inheritance. The thought that the underlying cause may be hereditary, though, is one reason for disbelieving the hypothesis, which gained traction a few years ago but is now discredited, that measles vaccinations cause autism.
One suggestion that does pop up from time to time is that the process which leads to autism involves faulty mitochondria. The mitochondria are a cell’s powerpacks. They disassemble sugar molecules and turn the energy thus liberated into a form that biochemical machinery can use. Mitochondrial faults could be caused by broken genes, by environmental effects, or by a combination of the two.
One thought on “Explaining autism”
Comments are closed.
That is a new one. I remain skeptical, but interested in following this. One thing that stands out for me in this short article is that if autism symptoms come from exposure to toxins like the hydrogen-peroxide present in the children’s lymphocytes in this study, wouldn’t that mean that autism effects would be expected to worsen with time, as more damage is done? A majority of children with autism who receive interventions at an early age show at least some improvement in most areas, and little worsening. Just my first thought.