This premise seems very likely according to a small study conducted in University of California, San Diego’s Autism Center of Excellence where researchers conducted a post-mortem study on the brain tissues of seven autistic boys and six normal boys as controls.
Researchers’ post-mortem examination yielded that the prefrontal cortex (PFC), the anterior part of the frontal brain lobe that controls cognitive behavior, personality, decision making and correct social behavior, of all the seven high-functioning autistic boys contained much more neurons (1.95 billion) compared to accepted ranges (just 1.16 billion). They noted that the youngest of the autistic boys had twice as many neurons. Bigger brain sizes are common finding in people with autism, yet how it influences the condition is still unclear.
The study hints that autism starts when things begin to grow wrong very early, when the embryo is just forming in the womb; the first neural cells form just three weeks after the conception. The factors that causes it is still in dispute, but infection of viral agents that cause mumps, measles and rubella during first trimester is strongly suspected. The wrong development caused failure of the neurons to wire and organize themselves, researchers said, and causing autism.
Though small, this is the first quantitative and confirmation test of a theory that autism is a result of overabundance of neurons in critical brain regions (like PFC) resulting in pathological and early developmental problems. A study in 2003 first documented this phenomenon and is followed by subsequent studies that observed brain enlargement in children with autism. Researchers recommended further studies to confirm whether overabundance of neurons can cause autism.
The study appears in the November issue of JAMA.
Filed under Autism, Mental Illness by on Nov 16th, 2011. Comment. 
Researchers suggested that early and accelerated growth may be linked to autism spectrum disorders (ASD) according to a study conducted at the Child Study Center at Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut. The study involved 184 boys aged less than 36 months.
The study shows that boys who have autism are often taller, weighed more and have bigger head circumference than those children of same age who are not affected with the disorder. The research replicated and confirmed earlier studies correlating early rapid growth to having autism. How do autism causes rapid growth is still unclear, and researchers suggests that future studies is needed to examine long-term effects of overgrowth among older children, like adolescents, and to girls as well.
It is found that the biggest boys in the study group exhibited greater severity of social deficits and lower adaptive functioning than those whose growth is standard. Professionals and parents alike are often looking on how to quickly diagnose, or detect, autism in children. Although diagnosis of autism can be assigned reliably after the second birthday, researchers said, symptoms typically emerge when the baby is aged 6 to 18 months.
But researchers quickly stressed to parents that rapid growth does not mean that they are autistic, rather the child should be clinically examined to determine presence of genetic disorders. Early childhood growth should not be considered a diagnostic marker for autism.
According to CDC it is estimated that 1 in 110 children in the United States have some of autism spectrum disorders, making autism more prevalent than childhood cancer. It is more likely to occur among boys than girls, and it occurs among all racial, ethnic and socioeconomic groups.
Filed under Autism, Mental Illness by on Oct 12th, 2011. Comment.
A small preliminary study shows that the anti-hypertensive drug Propanolol may help autistic individuals improve language and social function. Propanolol is a beta blocker widely used to address hypertension and anxiety-related problems such as stage fright.
The study was conducted in the University of Missouri, Columbia and was headed by David Beversdorf M.D and colleagues. Because Propanolol has ability to relieve anxiety and reverse effects of stress and autism is thought to be caused by rigid brain networks, researchers postulated that the drug might work for people with the disorder.
Previous studies have found out that Propanolol helps improve problem solving abilities in regards to word puzzles and improve fluency. To see if this would still work to people with autism, Dr. Beversdorf studied 14 high-functional individuals with autism and 14 normal individuals as controls. All were given fluency tests each after administration of placebo and 40 mg Propanolol in a double-blind, counterbalanced manner.
The result is participants with autism scored higher on fluency tests after being given with Propanolol.
The good results, researchers say, warrant another bigger and more comprehensive study such as additional participants and employment of brain imaging studies to further replicate and confirm the effect.
Filed under Autism, Mental Illness by on Oct 11th, 2011. Comment.
There is news of a study today that appears to indicate considerably high risk of Autism in siblings than had thought to be the case. This is important and somewhat concerning news about the prevalence of Autism in families.
Read more on Risk of Autism In Siblings Higher Than Thought…
Filed under Autism by on Aug 15th, 2011. Comment.
