Beyond (Beyond The Science Of Healthcare)

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P A G E 2 1A F O C U S E D L O O K I N T OWhat would happen ifthe autism gene waseliminated from thegene pool?You would have a bunchof people standingaround in a cave,chatting and socializingand not gettinganything done.T E M P L E G R A N D I NAUTISMB Y : A Y E S H A S O B H A NAutism affects around 1 in 160 children worldwide. Between2002 and 2010 alone, the prevalence of autism increased by119.4 % in the United States of America. However, the mostdevastating truth is that many children that have borderline ormild ASD (autism spectrum disorder) remain undiagnosed.Autism is a complex, lifelong developmental disability thattypically appears during early childhood and can impact aperson’s social skills, communication, relationships, and selfregulation.Autism is defined by a certain set of behaviours andis a ‘’spectrum condition’’ that affects people differently tovarying degrees. The word “autism” was first coined in 1911 bya Swiss psychiatrist, Eugen Bleuler. In the early dayspsychiatrists suggested that autism was linked toschizophrenia, but research by the 1940s showed that was not
B E Y O N D M A G A Z I N Ethe case. Although the exact cause of autism has not yetbeen discovered, scientists do now know that autism isa genetic condition. Having one child with autism raisesthe odds that the next child born of the same parentswill be born with autism by 20 percent.Currently, there is also no known cure for autism;however, early identification can lead to a childreceiving treatment earlier. Currently, the statistics showthat parents usually begin noticing indicators of autismwhen a child is about four years of age. On average,these indicators lead to visits to doctors for screeningafter about two to three years. The screening is amodified checklist that is usually filled out by theparents. This screening is not a very effective system inidentifying children that do not have severe autism.Therefore, many cases remain unidentified. In Canada,new community-based guidelines are being issued thatcan lead to an early detection. Parents with youngchildren, teachers, and caregivers are given a list ofindicators to look out for in children. These indicatorsfocus on the behaviour, communication, and emotionsexhibited by children aged between twelve to eighteenmonths. Some of these signs include:Lack of communicative gestures such as using eyegaze to request for somethingFixated glances at one object such as a light bulbLack of social smiling, especially when someonesmiles at themLack of interest in social games such as peek a booand playing with toysOver reactive to loud sounds or bright lightsAlthough scientists have not pinpointed the exact causeof autism, recent research has shown how the brainplays an essential part in autism. A team of Japaneseand UK researchers conducted a study of 26 males withtypically developing brains and 25 males who hadautism. These men had an average age of 25.3 years toto 27.3 years. MRIs and fMRIs were conducted on thesemen, and the differences and similarities in their brainactivities were noted . It was determined that in normalbrains, sensory areas of the brain that receive input fromthe eyes, skin, and muscles usually have shorterprocessing periods compared with higher-order areasthat integrate information and control memory. Withautism, it is the complete opposite. The sensory areasof the brain have longer processing periods comparedto the high-order parts, such as the right caudate. Thelonger responses in the sensory parts led to a greatersensitivity in the individuals, and the longer the neuraltimescale1 in the sensory parts, the more severe theautism. Similarly, in the individuals with shorter neuraltimescales in the right caudate, there were more,severe, repetitive, and restricted behaviours. The studyalso suggested that the subjects with autism had agreater density of neurons which led to the repetitiveneural activity patterns. This study by ColumbiaUniversity3 also suggested that individuals with autismhave a surplus of neurons. The researchers studiedbrain tissue from thirteen deceased adolescents agedbetween thirteen and twenty and thirteen deceasedchildren between the ages of two to nine who hadautism. In addition to that, the researchers also studiedthe tissues from twenty-two individuals who did nothave autism. In the brains of the individuals withoutautism, the density of neurons had reduced to almosthalf by late childhood. In comparison to the childrenwith autism, the density had only reduced by 16percent. A lower reduction in the number of neuronsled to a greater neuron density which, according to thestudy, could be the cause for autism. The researchersthen implemented their findings on mouse models.They found out that a protein called mTor wasresponsible for the inability of the synaptic cells toprune2. When mTor was overly reactive, the brain cellslost their self-pruning abilities, and therefore, it led to anabundance of synapses. This led the researchers toconclude that the genes that led to autism probably ledto an increase in the Mtor proteins in the children.Another study suggested that lack of serotonin led toautism in children. This study by Dana Foundation ledby D.Chugani concluded that low serotonin levels ledto the problem of not forming proper synapticconnections. The research compared the differences ofserotonin levels between children who have autism
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