Mitochondria's Theory Of Autism

Autism is characterized as a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects social interactions, nonverbal and verbal communication, and restricted and repetitive behavior. On a global scale, autism was estimated to affect 21.7 million people in 2013, and the number continues to rise as time persists. Children are often diagnosed while they are infants, usually in the first two years of life, when parents notice odd behaviors such as assembling toys or stacking of objects. It is not yet well understood how autism occurs, but we do know that autism affects information processing in the brain by changing the way nerve cells and their synapses connect and organize. Autism is one of the three disorders that make up the Autism Spectrum, the second is

Autism is a syndrome that is characterized by the impairment of social interaction skills, verbal and nonverbal communication, and a decreased interest in participating in a variety of activities. In 1943, Kanner, the man who is attributed with the identification of this disease, hypothesized that autism might be a biological disorder as opposed to a psychological one. Numerous studies have been conducted supporting Kanner’s hypothesis. These studies have ranged from examining the effects of rubella to investigating certain purine metabolic disorders as possible etiological agents. Recently, the areas of neuroanatomy, neurochemistry, and genetics have played a crucial role in developing a clearer picture into

In this paper, I will be discussing the disorder of Autism, a sever disorder that affects the function of the brain. It causes problems in such areas as social contact, intelligence, language and speech impediments, along with ritualistic or compulsive behaviors, as well as different responses to the environment that an autistic individual may have different than individuals not having autism would exhibit. I will be discussing generally about the history and description of autism. Also I will be discussing the charactistics that mark an autistic individual, the actual treatment that an autistic person may receive, risk factors that an autistic person may encounter, and interventions/treatments activities that an individual who has autism may take part in. I feel that by doing all of this that I will gain a greater sense of understanding for individuals with autism. I will be giving this information to you by going through each topic that I have outlined in the introduction and explaining what each means and how they affect an individual with autism.

In the article Autism Society, Studies shown that autism caused by having a surplus of synapses, connections between brain cells. The surplus slowdown in the normal pruning process that occurs during childhood and adolescence brain development. In many families, there are patterns of autism or related disabilities that have a genetic basis. Children who have autism may have inherited, although researchers don’t know the direct cause of autism, they’re still investigating many numbers of theories, including the links among heredity, genetics and medical problems.

Autism also affects the immune, nervous, genetic and enzyme systems, which shows a correlation between mercury and an autism spectrum disorder. The proportion of mercury has nearly doubled within the past few decades while the number of autism cases has also skyrocketed at an alarming rate (Bose-O’Reilly). In 2014, the Center for Disease and Prevention, also known as the CDC, reported that approximately one in 68 children is living with an autism spectrum disorder in the United States. This new estimate is 30 percent higher than statistics previously and is expected to continue to increase over the years like it has previously, because in 2012 it was reported that one in 88 children have an ASD (Autism Science Foundation). In the 1980’s the occurrence of autism was reported as one in 10,000 people and in the early nineties, the presence was one in 2,500 and in the late nineties it was one in 1,000 (Autism Science Foundation). Some believe it is an issue to compare autism rates over the last few decades, because the diagnostic criteria for autism has changed with the revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual in order to reflect new research. But the revision of the DSM has little effect on the increase of autism diagnoses because according to the DSM-V the only change between the fourth edition and the fifth edition is the name change of the disorder from autism to autism spectrum disorder and the severity levels of the disorder (DSM-V Development). The revision of the DSM has no correlation to the recent increase of

Symptoms typically are apparent before children turn 3 years old. (7). When individuals are born as an identical twin or have first degree relatives who have autism, they are automatically at a higher risk for developing it themselves. Other risk factors include immune dysregulation, altered short chain fatty acids, genetic mutations involving the metabolism of vitamin D, infections, teratogens, or antibodies maternally. For every 68 boys who are born, 1 will likely have autism, as boys are about five times more likely to present with autism than girls are. (3). When the brains of patients with Autism Spectrum Disorder are studied and compared with those who do not have the disorder, there are obvious differences. In the Autism Spectrum Disorder brain, there are alterations to the striatal circuits, a dysfunction in canonical neural circuits, and an abnormal basal ganglion connectivity. These striatal dysfunctions of the brain are evidence as to why abnormal behaviors occur in autistic patients (repetitive grooming, stereotypic motor routines, and deficits in social interaction and decision-making). There may even be evidence that links genetics to these specific neural circuits. (8). When MRI’s are taken on young autistic patients, the hyperplasia of their cerebral cortex can often be seen. Because the frontal and temporal lobes are important for social functioning and language development, these anatomical anomalies are likely to underlie the pathophysiology of autism.

Autism is a fairly new diagnosis in the healthcare industry. A rapidly growing number of children are being diagnosed annually. There have been many rumors about how children are developing autism, and many treatment options are being attempted. There is currently no cure for this condition.

This is a topic that is especially important and to me because in my job, I do behavior modification with children that are on the autism spectrum. This neurological disorder is a brain development condition that interferes with social interaction and can cause communication challenges. This is not a visible disorder, those that have autism look just like everyone else. There are many factors that make someone more likely to have autism, but experts have not yet discovered all of the potential causes. There is no cure for this disorder.

It’s a popular belief that autism is a biological development disorder in the brain. Meaning that the brain misfires and doesn’t develop the same way as most brains do. Which is supposedly cause by genetic mutations which evidently happen during development. It is possible that these genetic mutations come from early exposure to mercury. Which is in shots some children receive at very young ages.

With the rate of autism being diagnosed on the rise, the amount of research and interest in the disorder has risen as well. Some research suggests that over the past two decades the occurrence of autism has increased from approximately 2-5 per 10,000 births to about 1-5 per 1,000 births (Acosta & Pearl, 2004; Fatemi et al., 2012). Still others report that the occurrence is as high as 1 in 150 kids (Amaral, Schumann, & Nordhal, 2008). Even though the spectrum of autistic disorders has been studied since 1943, there have still not been any consistent nor persuasive causes or markers, either biological or clinical, identified with autism and its range of disorders (Santangelo & Tsatsanis, 2005). In fact, even with all of the advancements in genetic research technology and the increasing interest in autism, researchers can still only account for approximately 5-15% of autistic cases (Rogers et al., 2013).

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are a class of NDD affecting mostly males, which are largely idiopathic and display extensive variation in terms of phenotype, severity and degree of heritability [2]. It is postulated that the pathology of ASD is the result of a complex interaction between genetic predisposition and environmental risk factors, which disturb the developing brain [1]. ASD commonly involve deficits in social interaction and cognition, language, emotional learning and the presence of repetitive, stereotyped behaviours [1, 3, 4]. The brains of autistic children display reductions in long distance connectivity, abnormally regulated apoptosis and cell division, and increased inflammation [4].Additional studies have demonstrated gliosis, abnormal neuronal migration and

Autistic spectrum disorder is caused not only by environmental factors but also by genetic inheritability. This disorder can range from mild to severe and is shown in many different forms. Symptoms include speech impairment, disorganized language; sensory processing disorder which causes absent responses, sleep disorders, depression and anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder and many more. Diagnosing autism does not include medical test but instead a team of physiologists and physicians observe the child during an autism-specific behavior evaluations and in some cases genetic testing is needed. The exact cause of autism is still unknown although there are many factors that play a role in it for example mother’s weight, teratogens and

Autism refers to a neuron developmental condition, which impedes the normal child’s growth and progress within a social setting. According to Tzanakaki et al., “an autistic individual finds it challenging to interact with other people and cannot relate to societal norms ably” (63). Health practitioners believe that failure of neuron synaptic networks in the brain to develop in a normal way owing to chromosomal deficiency causes autism. The symptoms and signs of autism become visible right from infancy. For autistic patients, their cognitive processes are inhibited because their neuron synaptic junctions are underdeveloped. Arguably, although there is neither scientific nor a clinical, pathological experiment, which can prove with surety

One the biggest psychological disorders in our society is childhood autism. Childhood autism is defined as “A pervasive developmental disorder defined by the presence of abnormal and/or impaired development that is manifest before the age of 3 years, and by the characteristic type of abnormal functioning in all three areas of social interaction, communication, and restricted, repetitive behaviour.” (MHresource.org). Furthermore, boys are three to four more times likely to develop childhood autism than girls (MHresources.org). Statistics also show that the prevalence of childhood autism in births is one in fifty-nine and has grown 119.4 percent from 2000 to 2010 (CDC). Now, researchers are looking into what causes childhood autism. They are

The autism spectrum is very wide ranging and includes many symptoms. It goes from one or two mild developmental abnormalities all the way up to a person needing a lifetime of care. There are many contributors for autism however, researchers have not found the single cause of autism, and with that, they have not found a cure or accurate prevention methods. It has been found that children who have a sibling with ASD are much more likely to have it, which gives researchers a clue into genetics and how it plays a role in children being born with autism. This paper will discuss the different symptoms of ASD, and what treatments are used to help manage it. A case study will be discussed to show how a child presented with the disorder, and how they were able to live a normal life with the help of various methods of treatment. Genetics will be looked into in terms of siblings and the recurrence rate in families in a scientific study. In another, brain chemistry will be shown in ways that can affect the motor function of those diagnosed with ASD.