Single Mutation Might Be Cause For Autism - http://clapway.com/2015/08/08/single-mutation-cause-for-autism-101/

Single Mutation Might Cause Autism

Scientists have studied disorders such as Autism for quite some time, and as technology and medicine advance so does our knowledge of these diseases. Though scientists believed that Autism was caused by genetic and environmental factors, we still cannot be sure what causes certain people to be diagnosed with them. However, researchers might be closer to answering this question than ever before.

Gene Mutation Study

According to Aamna Mohdin with IFLScience, “It was just last December that researchers first identified more than 1,000 gene mutations linked with autism. While these mutations were shown to increase the risk of autism, researchers weren’t exactly sure how.” University of North Carolina researchers have conducted a new study, in which they found an enzyme, UBE3A, is switched “on” in children with Autism. This enzyme is essential to brain development, and in a normal situation, it would have a phosphate molecule attached to it that would turn it off in the developmental process. Mohdin explains that, “As a result of being constantly switched on, UBE3A becomes hyperactive.” This is what the researchers believe leads to the abnormal brain development in children with Autism.

Autism

The Centers for Disease Control tells us that 1 in 68 children in the United States are diagnosed with Autism. There is no cure for Autism; however, researchers are discovering several ways to help cope with the disease and to help children suffering from Autism learn how to live with the disorder. Autism Speaks has a myriad of information for those seeking help, including different types of technologies and programs that are proven to aid in the development of social and behavioral skills.

Several Recent Discussions Focusing on Autism

In July, we saw a rise in the number of Autism cases; however, many believe this was due to a reclassification of the term. A debate was also sparked by the question, “Can medical marijuana ease Autism side effects?” Several parents are attempting to use this natural treatment to calm their kids when severe behavioral issues arise.

Autism Awareness is growing, and the debate on the best way to help the children is still underway. However, this new study is a step in the right direction to understanding the disease and possibly having the ability to diagnose it better, and treat it better.

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Single Mutation Might Be Cause For Autism

Rise in Autism Mostly Due to Reclassification - http://clapway.com/2015/07/26/rise-in-autism-mostly-due-to-reclassification567/

Rise is Not Due to an Autism Epidemic

The rise in autism diagnoses has raised a number of questions about what could be causing such a dramatic increase. Many different ideas have been thrown out as suggestions, with some of them being decent guesses (better ability to notice autism), and some of them being terrible and not based on any actual facts (vaccines?). But the question has still remained: why has the rate of autism gone up as much as it has? A new study is positing its own theory, and it’s saying that there might not actually be that substantial of an increase in autism rates. The Penn State study instead gives evidence that the biggest reason for the increase is actually just a reclassification of other disorders and not an epidemic of autism.

Researchers Studied 11 Years Worth of Data

The researchers on this study pulled from data regarding enrollment in special education from 2000-2010. The numbers on how many students were in special education classes remained fairly steady, but the reasons that children were in the classes changed significantly. In the study’s timespan, 6.2 million kids were in special education. In 2000, 93,264 children were in these classes and had been diagnosed with autism. By 2010, there were 419,647 children in special education with autism diagnoses. That’s over 4 times as many children diagnosed with autism. The decade itself saw a 331% increase in autism. According to the study around 65% of the increase is a result of reclassification. Many children who had at one point simply fallen under an umbrella of “intellectually disabled” were now getting a more official diagnosis of autism. This is most evident when looking at the ages in the study. In students who were nine years old, 59% of the autism rise could be linked to this change. In those who were 15, however, it explained 97% of the autism spike. These students would have been younger at a point when they were more likely to get a diagnosis of intellectually disabled.

Other Factors Still Affect the Rate

Researchers obviously aren’t saying this is the entirety of the reason. Pediatricians are also generally getting better at finding and diagnosing autism. Similarly, parents and teachers are more aware of the symptoms than ever. It seems as though the key to the increase in autism is, generally, just a result of having a better idea of what autism actually is.

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Rise in Autism Mostly Due to Reclassification

Mini Brain From Skin Cells Sheds Light on Autism - http://clapway.com/2015/07/18/mini-brain-from-skin-cells-sheds-light-on-autism789/

Scientists looking to uncover the origins of autism have made a discovery by growing a group of miniature “proto-brains’ in a lab using reprogrammed skin cells to rewind the brain to the early days of development. This is a big step with such small “brains” and can potential lead to big discoveries in autism, which is a complex disorder.

The organoids that the scientists created are composed of embryonic brain cells that are smaller than one-tenth of an inch across. The scientists behind the research were able to watch an autistic brain that is in development. They found that the brain overproduces brain cells that are supposed to quiet the cacophony of neural activities in the brain.

THE RESULTS OF THE EXPERIMENT COMPARED TWO BRAINS

The results were compared to a normally developing brain and it showed that the brain development of a child who will develop autism has an imbalance of inhibitory and excitatory neurons. According to a Yale physician, this is the small, but powerful difference that could lead to the pinpointing of at least a little bit of the problems that lead to autism’s behavioral symptoms.

BEGINNING CELLS ARE MADE TO LOOK LIKE THOSE FROM EMBRYOS

Researchers used new laboratory methods that have been proven to make skin cells revert to a different form like those that are taken from embryos. They then nudged the resulting stem cells to begin the process of building a brain and then incubated the result for a month.

SCIENTISTS WERE ABLE TO FIND AND CORRECT A SINGLE GENE’S ABNORMAL PROGRESSION

When the researchers suppressed a single gene that is abnormally active in organoids created from patients with autism, they were able to fix the imbalance between neurons that quiet the cellular impulses, and those that increase them.

RESEARCH MEANS QUICK DIAGNOSIS AND FAST TREATMENT

This is a big step to a faster diagnosis and treatment of autism than before. It is possible that while a baby is still in utero, or shortly after birth, autism can be diagnosed and treated. The research and results from this study is making the focus on developing treatments more precise.

This research was published in the Cell journal.

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Mini Brain From Skin Cells Sheds Light on Autism