Clues To Autism Found In Sticky Blood Protein (Medical Ne...

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Clues To Autism Found In Sticky Blood Protein (Medical News Today)

Many children with autism have elevated blood levels of serotonin - a chemical with strong links to mood and anxiety. But what relevance this "hyperserotonemia" has for autism has remained a mystery.

New research by Vanderbilt University Medical Center investigators provides a physical basis for this phenomenon, which may have profound implications for the origin of some autism-associated deficits.

In an advance online publication in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Ana Carneiro, Ph.D., and colleagues report that a well-known protein found in blood platelets, integrin beta3, physically associates with and regulates the serotonin transporter (SERT), a protein that controls serotonin availability.

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I'll be checking translatingautism.com for a better reporting of this study.

A sticky wicket topic

Quote from "Cues to Autism found in Sticky Blood Protein"

At a February Keystone Conference, Blakely described preliminary studies with mice that his lab has engineered to express hyperactive SERT mutations. "Together, these new animal models offer an unprecedented opportunity to peel away the complexity of autism and possibly develop new therapies," he said.

This research also may uncover new ways of treating depression. "Current antidepressant mechanisms still essentially work in the same way they did 25 years ago - by targeting transporter uptake of neurotransmitter directly," Carneiro said. "Now we may have a completely new way to go about it."

Great article, MrMark. I mentioned these quotes because I was concerned that therapy would turn into a cure thing. If this discovery will help certain Autistics achieve their potential while on the Spectrum, then this is positive news.

Yeah, I thought the article was a little strange in that it talked about the seratonin levels as a cause of autism. It didn't seem to be the thrust of the research at all.