I was struck by how divisive this disease continues to be. Here were a panel of 3 doctors and Jenny McCarthy sitting there talking, and all they seemed intent on was arguing whether innoculations, in particular the MMR, cause autism. There are so many theories about what causes autism. I think what we need to be doing is taking a look at what the commonalities whith these kids are. My son has autism. He has never had seizures. He displayed signs before he was ever given any form of innoculation. My son is not circumsised (which some people seem to think is a link). My son has had every form of diagnostic test to check his brain function, and all have come back normal. My son has had genetic testing for fragile X, and he does not have it. In fact every doctor we have seen, from psychologists to neurologists tell us the same thing, “There is something there, but we can’t find it.” So why does my son have autism? Well, so many people seem to forget the study that the the Toronto Star published. So I’m including it below;
From The Toronto Star
Feb 19, 2007 06:40 AM
by Megan Ogilvie
Health Reporter
An international team of researchers led by Canadian scientists has honed in on the genetic underpinnings of autism, one of the most common and debilitating developmental disorders in children.
Previous studies have suggested between eight and 20 different genes are linked to autism, which affects an estimated one in 165 children.
“But the new data suggests there are more genes involved than we would have expected before,” said Stephen Scherer, a senior scientist at the Hospital for Sick Children and co-author of the study published online yesterday in the journal Nature Genetics. He estimates 100 genes could be involved or work in combination to cause autism.
Scherer said it took a global effort to co-ordinate the research, a feat that could not have been accomplished by one lab alone.
The five-year collaboration, part of the Autism Genome Project, involved more than 130 scientists in 50 institutions in 19 countries, and cost $20 million.
“To make this happen is unbelievable,” said Scherer, who led the Canadian team with Peter Szatmari, director of the Offord Centre for Child Studies in Hamilton.
Autism spectrum disorder can cause a range of symptoms in children, including repetitive behaviours and impaired language development and social interaction. The disorder affects x four times as many boys as girls.
To search for autism-susceptibility genes, the scientists collected DNA samples from 1,600 families from around the world with at least two members with autism spectrum disorder. They then scanned their entire genome to look for regions shared by people with autism.
The search led scientists to a previously unidentified area on chromosome 11, which they now believe harbours genes that increase the risk for autism.
They also used a technology pioneered at the Hospital for Sick Children, where they looked for copy number variations – long stretches of genetic material that either have missing or extra DNA. They found shared copy number variations in between 5 and 10 per cent of the families.
The analysis also uncovered a link between autism and the deletion in part of a gene known as neurexin 1, one of a family of genes important in communication between neurons in the brain.
The findings point the way for scientists to dig deeper into the genome to look for similar regions and molecular pathways that could cause autism.
James Kennedy, head of neuroscience research at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto, called it “a landmark study” that will have long-ranging implications for autism research.
“We expect many genes cause autism, maybe dozens,” said Kennedy, who was not part of the study. “To even find one of them is a great step forward.”
Szatmari said researchers have long known that autism is an inherited genetic disorder, but no one knew how it was passed on.
“We now know which haystack the needle is located in and, even more than that, we also have a better idea of where that needle is located,” he said. “We really will be able to now, in the next five years, to hone in on candidate genes and candidate regions to identify those genes and DNA sequences that seem to have gone wrong or have led to autism.”
The findings will help researchers come up with diagnostic methods for autism spectrum disorders, said Szatmari.
“We’re still diagnosing them too late,” he said. “If we can derive diagnostic tests for some forms of autism ….. and lower the age of diagnosis to 24 months or 18 months, that will be really important. The earlier children get interventions, the better the outcome will be.”
Every week parents of autistic children ask Wendy Roberts, a developmental pediatrician and co-director of the autism research unit at Sick Kids, whether there are prenatal tests to screen for autism. “At this point, we say that we can’t.”
The study won’t have any immediate impact on clinical practice, said Roberts, a co-author of the study. It will take time to design a prenatal test for autism, precisely because there are so many genes involved.
Roberts collected data from Toronto-area parents, including John. He didn’t want to use his last name because of the huge stigma still attached to autism spectrum disorders.
In the past, many parents blamed themselves for the onset of the disorder, looking to diet or even childhood immunizations for the cause.
John and his wife always believed there was nothing they could have done to prevent their 6-year-old son Michael’s autism and the research confirms it. Now they know Michael – who has difficulty communicating with people – has a deletion in one of his chromosomes. Their older son does not have autism.
“How do you ensure that genes are passed on intact without any missing things? You can’t,” John said. “That’s just nature. We’re not going to fret about it and we encourage all parents not to fret about it, either.”
They knew the study wouldn’t lead to a cure for Michael or even a new treatment for his symptoms.
“But it’s a start,” said John. “It may help him when he’s an adult. And in 10, 20 or 30 years it may lead to treatments for other children that have this type of diagnosis.”
So why aren’t we pursuing this? Why isn’t Jim Carrey, if he’s so dedicated to this, donating a whack of money to researchers who aren’t pointing fingers but are actually trying to find a common thread? Is it because if this is genetic it throws the vaccination theory out? But it might not. What if, due to a certain genetic malformation, certain children are more likely to be affected by the vaccinations? What if a simple blood test could tell you not to have your child vaccinated? Or that same blood test would tell you for certain that your child had autism and what that was going to entail? The simple fact is that autism is so different, and treatments have such varried results, that there has to be something more than just a bad reaction to a vaccination. The above article gave us some hope, and finally gave us some possible answers as to why our son is the way he is. It also gave me some hope that one day we might finally have him tested and be given a real definitive answer as to what happened, as opposed to “we can’t find anything.”
Finally, let me say that I am lucky in many ways. Many parents with autistic children don’t know their child. Their son or daughter is so locked away inside their mind that they just don’t react to the outside world. My son is not like this. I know my son. He has hopes and dreams that he communicates. He has emotions like the rest of us. What he doesn’t have is social skills, verbal abilities, fine motor control, and he has emotional outbursts. But my son hugs me, kisses me, and looks me in the eye and tells me that he “lubbas” me, which is the closest he can come to saying love. I cherish that, and at the same time it breaks my heart because he is just so close to being “normal.”
Some people who function as higher autistics say we shouldn’t treat them like they have a disease that needs to be cured, or treat them like there is anything wrong with them; they are who they are. Well, I applaud them for saying so, but at least they can say so. At least they function at a level where maybe they have been able to live out their hopes and dreams. But my son can’t right now. He tells me he wants to be a paramedic. How can he be a paramedic if he can’t speak? How can he be a paramedic if his fine motor skills don’t improve? And therapy, and special diets are expensive, and waiting for federally or provincially funded programs takes a long time. When as a family you’re just scraping by, it’s hard to say, “let’s spend an extra $50 dollars a grocery shop and get glutin free food. Or let’s spend $60 dollars an hour for speech or occupational therapy. The common person has a hard time finding treatment, and affording it, for their child. And this is devestating. It’s also frustrating that autism has no outward signs. If we’re out in a mall, no one around us knows that our child has autism. They see him have a fit and look at us with disgust. They make comments and judge us. Because our son looks normal. That is a frustrating fact about autism as well.
With all this said, I’m glad autism is getting the attention it needs. The occurences are increasing, and it is turning into an epidemic. I just hope we’re not too late.
