Autism

Autism prevalence data from around the world and, indeed, even within individual countries and states, are sporadic, but they indicate rising rates almost everywhere. For example, autism rates in Iceland increased from 3.8 per 10,000 in the period of 1973-83 to 8.6 per 10,000 in the period of 1984-93.111 Thirty-one cases of autism per 10,000 births were reported in Sweden in the 1990s I12l an autism rate of 11.3 per 10,000 births was reported for people native to southern Japan 13 and rates of 30 per 10,000 in U.S. metropolitan areas was reported in 2003J14  

It is generally agreed that autism has been increasing worldwide at least since 1979 at a rate of 3.8% per yearJ15,16 As of 2002, the conservative estimate of worldwide prevalence was 10/10,000 birthsJ17  

The available data, however, points in the direction that autism prevalence is lower in rural than in urban areas within the same locale. Autism is prevalent at the rate of 3.06 per 10,000 in the urban areas of Kukishama-Ken 

Neurotoxic agents can act differently in children than in adults because of their effects on developments that have no parallels in adults. 29 The developing fetus is more sensitive to neurotoxic agents than adults or even young children. 22 Low levels that are not harmful to adults negatively affect the developing brain. 30 Different chemicals can cause different 

Mixtures of chemicals have been shown to produce neurotoxic effects that are not predicted from the known toxicology of the mixtures individual chemicals. Low concentrations of chemical mixtures produce unusual and unexpected CNS effects.I37-40 These effects are confounded by concurrent exposure to other toxic chemicalsJ41  

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Symptoms cannot be better explained by another mental disorder (e.g., autism). 

Thimerosal is a preservative used in vaccines that has been purported to cause autism in children. The assumption is that thimerosal, also known as ethyl mercury, causes similar effects as methyl mercury, which has neurotoxic and nephrotoxic... 

Patients tend to believe that medications from nature are non-toxic, non-addicted, and non-invasive. Therefore complementary medicines are usually used in common, less severe, and chronic mental disorders such as sleep disorders, neurasthenia, and anxiety disorders. It is also applied in incurable conditions, for example dementias, autism, and schizophrenia, when doctors and families have tried desperately all means and finally turned to complementary medicine as the last hope. 

Sivendran, S., Patterson, D., Spiegel, E., McGown, I., Cowley, D. and Colman, R. F. Two novel mutant human adenylosuccinate lyases (ASLs) associated with autism and characterization of the equivalent mutant Bacillus subtilis ASL. /. Biol. Chem. 279 53789-53797, 2004. 

Happe, F. (1994). Autism An Introduction to Psychological Theory. University College London Press, London. 

The use of structurally rigid DKPs as bioactive models for opioid receptor antagonists has been proposed. These compounds are used in the elucidation of the binding requirements and will lead to the design of highly selective molecules with potential clinical application for diseases of the opioid system. These include the treatment of autism, alcohol dependency, and modulation of immunity Further studies by Baures has... 

For multifactorial diseases, the recurrence risk decreases rapidly for more remotely related relatives. For example, one study of autism reported a sibling risk of 4.5%, an uncle-niece risk of 0.1%, and a first-cousin risk of 0.05%. In contrast, the risk of carrying a single-gene mutation decreases by only 1/2 with each successive degree of relationship (i.e., 50% chance for siblings, 25% for unde-niece relationships, and 12.5% for first cousins). 

Faulty Wiring and/or Developmental Delay. Remember that neurotransmission moves through brain circuits. Some mental illnesses may be caused by misconnections in the circuitry that can result in the brain s equivalent of crosstalk that occurs when telephone lines are crossed. Examples of this problem are the so-called neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism, certain forms of mental retardation, and possibly schizophrenia. 

E. Not autism. Delusions or hallucinations must be present to diagnose schizophrenia in an autistic child or adult. 

Autism (Pervasive Development Disorder). The association between schizophrenia and autism is of particular historic significance. Bleuler, who coined the term schizophrenia, included autism as one of his four As among the symptoms of schizophrenia, the others being affect, ambivalence, and association. By autism, Bleuler meant the indifference to and separation from normal social interaction that is characteristic of schizophrenia. 

The relationship between autism and schizophrenia is still recognized in the latest edition of the DSM. In DSM-IV, the diagnosis of schizophrenia can only be made in someone previously diagnosed with autism when hallucinations or delusions are a prominent feature of the illness. 

Pervasive Developmental Disorders. Children with autism or one of the other pervasive developmental disorders can be impulsive and inattentive much like those with ADHD. However, the severe social disability and language problems of children with an autistic disorder usually far exceed that of ADHD. These differences are usually sufficient to clarify the diagnosis. When one is unsure, neuropsychological testing can help clarify matters. 

For more than 40 years, epidemiological studies have clearly demonstrated a tendency for diseases such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and autism... 

Furlano RI, Anthony A, Day R, et al. Colonic CDS and T-cell infiltration with epithelial damage in children with autism. / Pediatr 2001 138 366-372. 

Torrente F, Ashwood P, Day R, et al. Small intestinal enteropathy with epithelial IgG and complement deposition in children with regressive autism. Mol Psychiatry 2002 7 375-82. 

Chauhan, A. and Chauhan, V. (2006). Oxidative stress in autism. Pathophysiology 13,171-181. 

Chauhan, A., Chauhan, V., Brown, W. T., and Cohen, I. (2004). Oxidative stress in autism Increased peroxidationand reduced serum levels of ceruloplasmin and transferring—The antioxidant proteins. Life Sci. 75, 2539-2549. 

Junaid, M. A., Kowal, D., Barua, M., Pullartkat, P. S., Brooks, S. S., and Pullartkat, R. K. (2004). Proteomic studies identified a sungle nucleotide polymorphism in glyoxalase 1 as autism susceptibility factor. Am.. Med. Genet. 131A, 11-17. 

Wu, Y. Y., Chlen, W. H., Huang, Y. S., Gau, S. S., and Chen, C. H. (2008). Lack of evidence to support the glyoxalase 1 gene (GLOl) as a risk gene of autism in Han Chinese patient from Taiwan. Prog. Neuropsychpharmacol. Biol. Psychiatry 32,1740-1744. 

Symptoms of Fragile X syndrome include cognitive impairment, autism, seizures, and hyperactivity. 

This chapter is concerned with the neurochemical basis of developmental disability which is considered here in two forms the globally delayed or halted development seen in mental retardation, and the more circumscribed pattern of disordered development of autism. A range of deficits of important key aspects of consciousness are apparent in both conditions. Of particular relevance to consciousness are the cognitive and behavioural impairments in attention, concentration, memory, information processing and social behaviour which are commonly present. Consideration of aberrant neurotransmitter activities in these developmental deficits may provide insights into the role of neurotransmitters in consciousness. 

Autism is a major disorder of social and linguistic development which occurs in approximately 1 in 500 people in the general population (Gillberg, 1992). The condition is common among the mentally retarded, in whom at least 10% are affected (Gillberg et ah, 1986 O Brien, 2000a). Autism is defined by the pres-... 

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