Wow! So if I had a kiddo with "autistic" blood, I could make a lot of choices, like not vaccinating or start early with interventions. Too cool! But then a lot of negatives, too. Would I loose my insurance for that kiddo due to "pre-existing condition junk???
Here is a more detailed article I rec'd yesterday..... makes me really wonder how my allergies etc play a roll as a preggo mom to #2!!
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Children with Autism Have Distinctly Different Immune System Reactions Compared to Typical Children
Immunologists from UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute find clear biological component to perplexing childhood neurological disorder
BOSTON, Mass. (May 5, 2005) - A new study by researchers at the University of California, Davis, M.I.N.D. Institute and the NIEHS Center for Children's Environmental Health demonstrate that children with autism have different immune system responses than children who do not have the disorder. This is important evidence that autism, currently defined primarily by distinct behaviors, may potentially be defined by distinct biologic changes as well.
The study was released at the 4th International Meeting for Autism Research (IMFAR) - a meeting of autism scientists started by Cure Autism Now, the UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute and the National Alliance for Autism Research to accelerate knowledge of this increasingly common and perplexing disorder. It is estimated that autism now affects 1 in every 166 children.
"Understanding the biology of autism is crucial to developing better ways to diagnose and treat it," said Judy Van de Water, associate professor of rheumatology, allergy and clinical immunology at the UC Davis School of Medicine and the UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute. "While impaired communication and social skills are the hallmarks of the disorder, there has not yet been strong scientific evidence that the immune system is implicated as well. We now need to design carefully controlled studies that tell us even more about the way in which a dysfunctional immune system may or may not play a role in the disorder itself."
Van de Water, along with co-investigator of the study Paul Ashwood, assistant professor of medical microbiology and immunology at the UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute, isolated immune cells from blood samples taken from 30 children with autism and 26 typically developing children aged between two and five years of age. The cells from both groups were then exposed to bacterial and viral agents that usually provoke T-cells, B cells and macrophages - primary players in the immune system.
Of the agents tested in the study - tetanus toxoid, lippopolysaccharide derived from E. coli cell walls, a plant lectin known as PHA, and a preparation of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine antigens - the researchers found clear differences in cellular responses between patients and controls following exposure to the bacterial agents and PHA.
In response to bacteria, the researchers saw lower levels of protein molecules called cytokines in the group with autism. Cytokines function as mediators of the immune response, carrying messages between B, T and other immune cells. They also are known to be capable of having profound effects on the central nervous system, including sleep and the fever response. Immune system responses to PHA, in contrast, produced more varied cytokine levels: Higher levels of certain cytokines and lower levels of others.
This is great Stef, thanks for posting it. It's interesting to learn that cytokines have a profound impact on sleeping and fevers. My daughter would have a terrible time sleeping, as many ASD kids do. Waking up at 2am and 3am every night for years. Also, she has a seizure disorder. She would be fine, not even a cold. Then she would have a seizure and she would get a high fever and a runny nose almost instantly. Back then, before ASD diagnosis, we thought maybe she was having seizures because her body would just unable to normally regulate how fast her temperature would rise (fever). Perhaps this 30% subset of seizure ASK kids has even less cytokines? I wonder what is needed by the body to increase cytokines? (If possible). Guess I have some learning to do.
Sio, you make a good point, but of course insurance companies aren't exactly doing much coverage of ASD anyway so it's not too much of a big worry there, I'd think.
Wow! So if I had a kiddo with "autistic" blood, I could make a lot of choices, like not vaccinating or start early with interventions. Too cool! But then a lot of negatives, too. Would I loose my insurance for that kiddo due to "pre-existing condition junk???
Here is a more detailed article I rec'd yesterday..... makes me really wonder how my allergies etc play a roll as a preggo mom to #2!!
_________________
Children with Autism Have Distinctly Different Immune System Reactions Compared to Typical Children
Immunologists from UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute find clear biological component to perplexing childhood neurological disorder
BOSTON, Mass. (May 5, 2005) - A new study by researchers at the University of California, Davis, M.I.N.D. Institute and the NIEHS Center for Children's Environmental Health demonstrate that children with autism have different immune system responses than children who do not have the disorder. This is important evidence that autism, currently defined primarily by distinct behaviors, may potentially be defined by distinct biologic changes as well.
The study was released at the 4th International Meeting for Autism Research (IMFAR) - a meeting of autism scientists started by Cure Autism Now, the UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute and the National Alliance for Autism Research to accelerate knowledge of this increasingly common and perplexing disorder. It is estimated that autism now affects 1 in every 166 children.
"Understanding the biology of autism is crucial to developing better ways to diagnose and treat it," said Judy Van de Water, associate professor of rheumatology, allergy and clinical immunology at the UC Davis School of Medicine and the UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute. "While impaired communication and social skills are the hallmarks of the disorder, there has not yet been strong scientific evidence that the immune system is implicated as well. We now need to design carefully controlled studies that tell us even more about the way in which a dysfunctional immune system may or may not play a role in the disorder itself."
Van de Water, along with co-investigator of the study Paul Ashwood, assistant professor of medical microbiology and immunology at the UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute, isolated immune cells from blood samples taken from 30 children with autism and 26 typically developing children aged between two and five years of age. The cells from both groups were then exposed to bacterial and viral agents that usually provoke T-cells, B cells and macrophages - primary players in the immune system.
Of the agents tested in the study - tetanus toxoid, lippopolysaccharide derived from E. coli cell walls, a plant lectin known as PHA, and a preparation of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine antigens - the researchers found clear differences in cellular responses between patients and controls following exposure to the bacterial agents and PHA.
In response to bacteria, the researchers saw lower levels of protein molecules called cytokines in the group with autism. Cytokines function as mediators of the immune response, carrying messages between B, T and other immune cells. They also are known to be capable of having profound effects on the central nervous system, including sleep and the fever response. Immune system responses to PHA, in contrast, produced more varied cytokine levels: Higher levels of certain cytokines and lower levels of others.
Tait-R-Tot #2
This is great Stef, thanks for posting it. It's interesting to learn that cytokines have a profound impact on sleeping and fevers. My daughter would have a terrible time sleeping, as many ASD kids do. Waking up at 2am and 3am every night for years. Also, she has a seizure disorder. She would be fine, not even a cold. Then she would have a seizure and she would get a high fever and a runny nose almost instantly. Back then, before ASD diagnosis, we thought maybe she was having seizures because her body would just unable to normally regulate how fast her temperature would rise (fever). Perhaps this 30% subset of seizure ASK kids has even less cytokines? I wonder what is needed by the body to increase cytokines? (If possible). Guess I have some learning to do.
Sio, you make a good point, but of course insurance companies aren't exactly doing much coverage of ASD anyway so it's not too much of a big worry there, I'd think.
LR