Scientists narrow down the startling risk factors that can cause autism
Quote:
In the past decade, researchers have come a long way in narrowing down which conditions may make autism more likely to develop. What they learn could lead to more sophisticated treatments for autism at its early stages, or even prevent the disorder from developing in the first place.
Symptoms usually appear in children between 12 and 18 months old.
They now suspect that autism, like other complex diseases such as cancer or obesity, comes about by the interaction of many different genes and environmental factors. Researchers estimate that there may be hundreds of genes that could make someone more likely to develop autism, but merely having any one of those genes doesn't determine whether or not the disorder develops, or how severe it is if it does.
Researchers are getting creative with the kinds of studies they are designing to better assess these and other potential risk factors
But even if a well-designed study uncovers a new risk factor, that has to be validated and replicated by other scientists. And so far, Volk says, researchers are not far enough down the road to come up with any interventions to treat or prevent autism based on those findings.
"I don't think [understanding autism] is an unsolvable problem. I don't think any autism researcher would be doing it if it were," says Halladay of the Autism Science Foundation.
The article itself is a good brief summary of the complicated subject of the state of autism research and you should read the whole thing if you need to refresh your memory or catch up on what is going on with autism research. I nitpicked the article and put it in this section to point out a couple of things. I bolded the words and phrases that use "medical model" of autism language. There is a school of thought that autism is too complicated and too much a part of a person to be cured. That may or may not be true but as demonstrated in the last paragraph I quoted that is not the view of the scientists researching the causes of autism.
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Professionally Identified and joined WP August 26, 2013
DSM 5: Autism Spectrum Disorder, DSM IV: Aspergers Moderate Severity
It is Autism Acceptance Month
“My autism is not a superpower. It also isn’t some kind of god-forsaken, endless fountain of suffering inflicted on my family. It’s just part of who I am as a person”. - Sara Luterman
08 Sep 2017, 12:18 am
