It Happens Every 18 Minutes !
In the United States, there is a baby born every 18 minutes that will acquire autism. In most cases it makes itself known before the age of three. The statistics are alarming, and the increase in diagnosed cases has risen dramatically in the last twenty years. Still scientists don’t know exactly what causes the mysterious developmental brain disorder, and there is no cure. It is believed that both genetic and environmental factors could be to blame.
In a recent study, John’s Hopkins University neurologist, Harvey Springer, wondered if mother’s of autistic children might produce immune protein (antibodies) that react with or possibly harm their baby’s brains during pregnancy.
Other studies have linked autism to the immune system, in particular to auto immune reactions. In some cases of auto immune reactions, the body’s own defenses mistakenly attack native tissue. It is known that Autistic people are more likely to make antibodies against their own brain cells. Auto immune disorders such as type 1 diabetes, are also more common in mothers of autistic children.
In his most recent study Dr. Springer and his team, collected blood samples from 200 participants. There were 100 mothers of children with moderate to severe autism, as well as 100 mothers of healthy children. They only extracted antibodies that could cross the placenta during pregnancy. Then they tested those antibodies against the proteins from human fetal brain tissue. They discovered that the blood from the mothers of autistic children reacted to at least two fetal brain proteins. However, all the mothers tested had similar reactions to each other, against other proteins that were tested.
It is Dr. Singer’s hope that “These immune factors may help trigger or turn on some underlying or potential problem.” It is not yet known the role that brain proteins play during development, nor is it known whether the maternal antibodies in any way influence their function. Dr. Singer’s team will be investigating these questions (in his ongoing study) by injecting pregnant mice with human maternal antibodies to determine if their offspring show any developmental problems.