Brain dysfunction autism

Marchetti, B., Scifo, R., Batticane, N., and Scapagnini, U. (1990) Immunological significance of opioid peptide dysfunction in infantile autism. Brain Dysfunction 3 346-354. 

The co-3 fatty acids have numerous important functions, especially in the brain. Accordingly, a deficiency of DHA and EPA may cause dysfunction of the central nervous system and probably also the retina, thereby resulting in impaired vision. In addition, there is a variety of neurological and psychiatric disorders that have been associated with decreased levels of especially DHA and AA, such as, for example, schizophrenia and depression [3], post-traumatic stress syndrome, autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Since no primary inherited defect of essential fatty acid interconversion has yet been described, no specific explanations for the essential fatty acid concentration changes are readily available. 

Recently, Campbell et al. (2009) have reported that disrupted MET gene signaling may contribute to increased risk for autism spectrum disorder that includes familial GI dysfunction. A functional variant in the promoter of the gene encoding the MET receptor tyrosine kinase has been associated with ASD, and MET protein expression has been found to be decreased in the temporal lobe cortex in ASD postmortem brain tissue. MET is a pleiotropic receptor that is known to function in both brain development and GI repair. Thus, the identification of medical disorders in ASD individuals, in this case GI disorders, may not only improve quality of life for those affected with ASD but may lead to improved or more precise definition of genetic and phenotypic subtypes in this complex heterogeneous disorder. 

Researchers at the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore, MD, found that children with autism have increased white matter in the motor region of the brain. In normally developing children, increased white matter is correlated with improved motor skills, but later may contribute to motor dysfunction, as well as abnormal socialization and communication. 

Autism. H MRS and MRI have been used to assess evidence of brain mitochondrial dysfunction in subjects with autism spectrum disorder or developmental delay and in typically developing controls. Children were examined at 3-4, 6-7 and 9-10 years-of-age. H MRS and MRI revealed no evidence for brain mitochondrial dysfunction in the children with autism spectrum disorder. " ... 

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