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Autism rates soaring around the world

Hip

Senior Member
Messages
17,820
Autism has been linked to low levels of vitamin D during pregnancy (ref: here).

Could modern life habits and practices be reducing the amount of vitamin D produced by sunlight that a pregnant mother receives, thereby leading to autism?

It seems that humans spend an increasing amount of time behind glass windows, and glass cuts out a large percentage of the vitamin D3 producing UVB-type ultraviolet light from the sun. We work in offices behind glass windows; we drive in cars with air conditioning, so we keep the windows closed all year round; we often shop in large malls, which generally have no sunlight at all.

Ultraviolet of the UVB type produces vitamin D3 on our skin, but UVB light is blocked by window glass. Window glass only lets through UVA light, which does not produce vitamin D3. What's more, according this this very interesting article by Dr Mercola on vitamin D, UVA light can actually destroy the vitamin D3 on your skin. So sunlight or daylight shining on you through a window can reduce you vitamin D3 levels.

(Incidentally, the above Mercola article also mentions that it takes up to two days for your body to absorb the sunlight-generated vitamin D3 on your skin — but showering or bathing with soap removes this vitamin D3 before it can be absorbed. Thus the modern habit of showering once or twice a day may also contribute to decreasing vitamin D3 from the skin.)


Furthermore, I believe that the vitamin D3 produced in your skin by sunlight is not the same as vitamin D3 you get from your diet (or from a supplement). The sunlight produced version is in fact vitamin D3 sulfate, which is water soluble, unlike the vitamin D3 from your diet. Could this water soluble vitamin D3 sulfate be better able to cross the placenta, thus giving the growing fetus ample supplies of vitamin D3?

If so, then spending much of our lives indoors or in cars behind glass windows might ultimately be reducing the amount of vitamin D3 sulfate received by a fetus during pregnancy, leading to autism.

It would be interesting to see a study which questioned mothers of autistic children about the amount of outdoor sunlight exposure they had during their child's pregnancy.
 

Hip

Senior Member
Messages
17,820
Further to this lack of sunlight connection to autism, I just found this interesting hypothesis:
Might cholesterol sulfate deficiency contribute to the development of autistic spectrum disorder?

"we propose a novel hypothesis for a principle cause of autism, namely insufficient supply of cholesterol sulfate to the fetus during gestation and the infant postnatally. We hypothesize that main contributory factors are insufficient sun exposure and insufficient dietary sulfur, for both the mother and the affected child. "

I did not realize that cholesterol sulfate is another major nutrient produced by sunlight exposure. I thought is was only vitamin D that you got from the sun.
 

Crux

Senior Member
Messages
1,441
Location
USA
Yes, Utah does have many, I'll call it, societal problems.
It's true that we have many frightening statistics; such as very high rates of rape, incest, pedophilia, and more.
I agree that there seems to be an enormous pressure placed on men as well as women and children here.
I realize this is a truth the world over, but one possible distinction here is that our society wants to be accepted as 'normal'. So, I see people push themselves to the extreme of normalcy. ( This may not make sense to some folks.)

As for ASD, I think the term , autistic wasn't developed until the early 1900's. In the late 19th century, Victorian England, I've read that 1 in 3 births resulted in death, and the epidemics at that time were Cholera, TB, and other infections.

I tend to believe that many aberrant behaviors stem from some physiological dysfunction. There are are many causes for this, of course. I would include exposure to pathogens and toxins. I also strongly believe that some people, (myself), were born with a susceptibility. I'm pretty sure, had I been born a century ago, I would have been one who would not have made it.

I'm going to look into why Israel has an increased incidence of ASD. ( Sorry I've over focused on Ut.) I understand that the enormous amount of stress everyone there is experiencing could be immuno-suppressive. I'm not informed of the toxic chemical exposures they may have. There could be many.

After considering all of this grimness, I would like to write that with taking strong measures to improve my own health, I'm having a relatively bright success. ( I have a stong hope for this 'peace on earth', business.)
And Good Health to us all !
 

anne_likes_red

Senior Member
Messages
1,103
Hip, I was just reading Dr Seneff's papers on her home page. http://people.csail.mit.edu/seneff/
She talks about hypomethylation (I know she was in contact with Rich a year or so ago), lack of cholesterol in the diet and lack of sunlight on the skin....Plus environmental toxins. She's was, a year ago, especially interested in a possible effect of aluminium in vaccines.
Here are some more recent papers she's co authored:

Empirical Data Confirm Autism Symptoms Related to Aluminum and Acetaminophen Exposure
http://people.csail.mit.edu/seneff/Entropy/entropy-14-02227.pdf

Impaired Sulfate Metabolism and Epigenetics: Is There a Link in Autism?
http://people.csail.mit.edu/seneff/Entropy/entropy-14-01953.pdf
 

AFCFS

Senior Member
Messages
312
Location
NC
SLC is beautiful. I remember on the way from LV to SLC and that it got greener and greener up there, which felt very nice.

SLC is beautiful; had held it in the archives of my mind and it popped out again when I read this. I remember when I was younger, I would fly in there on my way to points west. The mountains and emerging from the flatland were awe-inspiring. On another trip, in a car, I had caught bug in western Nevada and recall driving all night with a combination of diarrhea and semi-projectile vomit, until I got to SLC and went to the ER to be treated for severe dehydration.

- ah the fond memories of youth

But as for the Autism, I find it interesting to look at what treatments are making some sense. I really just started to look at this after Anteah mentioned the connection to ‪Glutathione‬ and B12 from another post, but have found a few article that may be interesting:

Methyl-B12: A Treatment for ASD with Methylation Issues‬, which states:
‪B12 (cobalamin) is a vitamin “family” with five unique family members that each do different things: a) cyanocobalamin; b) hydroxycobalamin; c) adenosylcobalamin; d) glutathionylcobalamin; e) methylcobalamin. Out of the B12 family, only Methyl-B12 has the ability to activate the methionine/homocysteine biochemical pathway directly. It is this pathway that is responsible for the body’s entire sulfur-based detoxification system. It is this pathway that is responsible for the formation of S-adenosylmethionine (SAMe), the universal methyl donor. It is this pathway that is responsible for the formation of homocysteine, the “crossroads” molecule that is responsible either to reform methionine and SAMe or create cysteine, taurine, and glutathione. Glutathione is the body’s primary intracellular antioxidant and is responsible for many detoxification reactions, most notably those that involve the binding and removal of mercury, lead, cadmium, arsenic, nickel, tin, antimony, and many other lesser-known heavy metals that also bind to glutathione’s sulfur group.‬
Treat Autism & ADHD: Methyl B12 Injections
Increasing evidence is revealing the role of methylation in the interaction of environmental factors with genetic expression in playing a role in developmental issues like autism and ADHD. Differences in maternal care during the first 6 days of life in a mammal can cause different methylation patterns in some genes. Methylation has also been shown to impact inflammation after a child leaves the womb. We know that autism and ADHD are linked to inflammation. Now we are discovering that inflammation, autism and ADHD are linked to impaired methylation.‬
Glutathione and MB12. Is there a connection?
Autism is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder that is thought to involve both genetic and environmental factors. The 10-fold increase in the prevalence of autism in the last 15 years is a major public health concern. Although abnormal thiol metabolism has been associated with other neurologic diseases, these pathways and related polymorphisms have not been evaluated in autistic children. Plasma levels of metabolites in methionine transmethylation and transsulfuration pathways were measured in 90 autistic and 45 control children using HPLC with electrochemical detection. Polymorphic variants in transcobalamin II (TCII), methylene- tetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR), methionine synthase reductase (MTRR), catecholamine-O-methyltransferase (COMT), and glutathione-S-transferase (GST) M1/T1 were evaluated in 233 autistic children and 183 controls. The results indicated that mean levels of methionine, cysteine, total glutathione, and the ratio of oxidized to reduced glutathione were significantly decreased among the autistic children. The frequency of MTHFR 677CT/1298AG heterozygosity, TCII 776GG, COMT 1947GG, and the GST M1/T1 double null genotype was increased in the autistic children relative to controls. We hypothesize that an increased vulnerability to oxidative stress (environmental and/or intracellular) may contribute to the development and clinical manifestations of autism.

So what does this mean for a patient? Glutathione is the body’s natural detoxification mechanism. Its job is to move ‘bad stuff’ out of the body. If you do not have enough, then harmful substances can accumulate and thus affect health; or if the toxins get too high, they can affect brain function. So how does glutathione affect the brain and what does this have to do with MB12? The following is a comment that Dr. Neubrander gives to his patients that (while a bit technical) may explain some of the processes involved.

Although not sure about this line from the last article:
In general there is the possibility that too much methyl-B12 could be a problem
 

natasa778

Senior Member
Messages
1,774
I do think there are some social pathologies, which might be stressors that lead to higher rates of autism in Utah.

But very important to remember not to mix causes and consequences! Because this also works the other way around: physical (biological) pathologies can and do lead to social/mental pathologies.Think toxoplasmosis for example.Or think wide-spread psychosis and social decline of late Romans (lead poisoning).

You cannot say that higher rates of depression in population is the cause of higher rates of autism. Because in theory higher rates of depression and mental disorders in population could simply be things that happen in parallel to increase in autism rates, as they can be caused by the same things that cause/contribute autism.

Vulnerability to social pathologies could easily be just a reflection of biological pathology affecting that population.
 
Messages
646
So the take home message, all things considered, is that the prevalence rate of ASD in the Israeli population has increased but not yet to the level (1% approx) estimated for the USA as a whole and well below the 2% approx now reported for New Jersey, USA and Cambridgeshire UK?
The only 'take home message' from any serious work published on ASD prevalence to date, is that no where in any developed country can any methodology of research definitively identify 'actual' increases in prevalence, separate from increased diagnosis of incidence. Quite simply all the apparent increases can be accounted for by better diagnosis and encouragement of acceptance of diagnosis because of carer benefits arrising from educational and social support interventions, that is - more experts recognise ASD, more teachers welcome the diagnosis and more carers get more help with challenging children, so the numbers go up.

Zahorodny et al allow that their methodology does not exclude the possibility that real increases in ASD prevalence have occured within their study area in the four year study period 2002 - 2006, but when set in the context of the US overall, there is no statistical basis to suggest a National level increase. Zahorodny et al also allow that environmental factors specific to their study area could be contributory to the statistically possible (but not certain) real increase in prevalence which can not be excluded by their methodology. Match that to the article headline !

The Davidoitch e al paper says nothing at all about the source of increase, which can be accounted for entiely by changes in patterns and acceptence of diagnosis. Some of the details could indicate either genetic or environmental factors as contributory to ASD but the study does not provide for anything other than speculation in that direction.

IVI
 
Messages
646
As in ? As Marco said the Israel study noted a big increase, although their rates do not (yet?) match those of US or Korea.They do discuss why that is, and note that this is most likely due to stricter criteria in Israel. The bottom line is that the rates have increased ...
Rates of diagnosis have increased - that is not the same thing as increases in actual prevalence.

I always find the discussion of ASD in the context of M.E/CFS rather bizarre because so much of the ASD diagnosis is a construct straight out of the Biopsychosocial handbook, and what we so often get is folks on the one hand, energetically arguing for the significance of the increase of ASD which is wholly dependent upon the BPS model, and then arguing equally energetically that the BPS model is utterly flawed because of how the BPS model configures M.E/CFS.

.Or think wide-spread psychosis and social decline of late Romans (lead poisoning).
Noooooo ! Not the fall of the Roman Empire !!. This is a very old and long ago disarded historical canard. Most historians don't even really consider the Empire 'fell' in the sense of catastrophic decline. More lead in mediaeval skeletons than in Roman ones: http://www.pasthorizonspr.com/index.../lead-poisoning-in-rome-the-skeletal-evidence

IVI
 

Marco

Grrrrrrr!
Messages
2,386
Location
Near Cognac, France
The only 'take home message' from any serious work published on ASD prevalence to date, is that no where in any developed country can any methodology of research definitively identify 'actual' increases in prevalence, separate from increased diagnosis of incidence. Quite simply all the apparent increases can be accounted for by better diagnosis and encouragement of acceptance of diagnosis because of carer benefits arrising from educational and social support interventions, that is - more experts recognise ASD, more teachers welcome the diagnosis and more carers get more help with challenging children, so the numbers go up.

Zahorodny et al allow that their methodology does not exclude the possibility that real increases in ASD prevalence have occured within their study area in the four year study period 2002 - 2006, but when set in the context of the US overall, there is no statistical basis to suggest a National level increase. Zahorodny et al also allow that environmental factors specific to their study area could be contributory to the statistically possible (but not certain) real increase in prevalence which can not be excluded by their methodology. Match that to the article headline !

The Davidoitch e al paper says nothing at all about the source of increase, which can be accounted for entiely by changes in patterns and acceptence of diagnosis. Some of the details could indicate either genetic or environmental factors as contributory to ASD but the study does not provide for anything other than speculation in that direction.

IVI

Re the bolding - which is why I said "all things considered" within the admitted limitations of their methodology of course. Can any study such as this be 'definitive'? But after careful consideration of all factors (again within the limitations of such-like studies) they conclude that they can not 'definitively' exclude the possibility that the apparent rise in prevalence is not an artefact. This being the case doesn't the precautionary principle then apply and require a less benign interpretation of results that can probably never be 'definitive'.

"Match that to the article headline!"

I don't feel the need to. I've seen a lot of 'sexed-up' headlines lately and take them all with a heavy pinch of salt.
 
Messages
646
Re the bolding - which is why I said "all things considered" within the admitted limitations of their methodology of course. Can any study such as this be 'definitive'. But after careful consideration of all factors (again within the limitations of like studies) they conclude that they can not 'definitively' exclude the possibility that the apparent rise in prevalence is not an artefact; doesn't the precautionary principle demand then apply and require a less benign interpretation of results that can probably never be 'definitive'.
I'm not sure how less benign - rather than 'neutral' could actually be applied. If there is a heritable genetic element to ASD, would that require consideration of 'not having children' by people who have ASD in their families on the basis of the precautionary principle ?

The absence of 'definitive' doesn't invoke a concern for 'all possible' alternatives - it simply reaffirms a position of 'not knowing' that is limited in reasoned consideration by the application of assessable probabilities. This seems particularly apposite in the case of a developmental condition the diagnosis of which is heavily dependent on a value driven construct such as ASD.

IVI
 

natasa778

Senior Member
Messages
1,774
Quite simply all the apparent increases can be accounted for by better diagnosis and encouragement of acceptance of diagnosis because of carer benefits arrising from educational and social support interventions, that is - more experts recognise ASD, more teachers welcome the diagnosis and more carers get more help with challenging children, so the numbers go up.
IVI

Nice try but totally wrong. It is wishful thinking and part of autism mythology .... for one these are the kids that are UNABLE to follow curriculum without special support, ie would have fallen out of the educational system in those massive numbers in the past as simply unable to sit in the class etc etc etc, so no they were not 'invisible' in the past but simply not there. Or else we would have known about 1 in 50 children being kicked out of primary schools.

Secondly the massive increase noted by NJ study mostly includes moderate to severe autism types, again this is the type of autism that is very dysfunctional and that you would never ever miss, not in a million years. If these kids were just 'misdiagnosed' in the past then prevalence of those misdiagnosed disorders would be falling in last few decades. But they remain static.

Thirdly the diagnosis itself does not give one access to special services or educational support, actually the diagnosis itself is practically worthless in many areas of real life. Education support is given according to need and is not linked to diagnosis etc. In the UK for example the diagnosis does not give one automatic access to any services or benefits whatsoever.

As for the BPS model of autism - it is totally wrong again because autism is just a surface manifestation of abnormal medical/ pathological processes - take away those abnormalities and you take away autism ...Keeping autism in DSM a means of reinforcing the myth and keeping autism in the realms of psychology. Totally wrong and totally tragic.

There is lots more but no time.
 

natasa778

Senior Member
Messages
1,774
Zahorodny et al also allow that environmental factors specific to their study area could be contributory to the statistically possible (but not certain) real increase in prevalence which can not be excluded by their methodology.
IVI

This is authors soft way of saying that they are noticing massive prevalence - they have bent over backwards to explain it away but just COULD NOT.

Lots of people are desperately trying to keep the autism myths alive (better awareness yap yap yap, evolution crap and so on) -- many jobs, pension plans and egos depend on those dogmas being kept. If it is ever openly admitted that increase is REAL then many things will automatically follow, like medical/pathological nature of the disorder (HERV activation only happens in disease states ;) , as one famous blogger has repeatedly stated :D ), and most of all the need to do something about treatment and prevention etc etc. Some would finally have to take on real responsibility, or admit that they know shit all and quietly leave the scene. Ouch.
 

Waverunner

Senior Member
Messages
1,079
But very important to remember not to mix causes and consequences! Because this also works the other way around: physical (biological) pathologies can and do lead to social/mental pathologies.Think toxoplasmosis for example.Or think wide-spread psychosis and social decline of late Romans (lead poisoning).

You cannot say that higher rates of depression in population is the cause of higher rates of autism. Because in theory higher rates of depression and mental disorders in population could simply be things that happen in parallel to increase in autism rates, as they can be caused by the same things that cause/contribute autism.

Vulnerability to social pathologies could easily be just a reflection of biological pathology affecting that population.

Natasa, I fully agree. There was this really stupid study on sciencedaily some days ago. It claimed, that people who worry constantly, are at higher risk for PTSD. Did it ever occur to the authors of this study, that these people might worry more than others, because they already suffer from a biochemical dysfunction, that later leads to PTSD? They even pointed out, that the same event (e.g. death of a loved one) leads to different outcomes in different people. But instead of making the point, that some people could be ill already, they say, that they worry too much.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/12/121217140742.htm
 

natasa778

Senior Member
Messages
1,774
Also re: Utah and higher rates of social/mental problems alongside higher rates of autism there ... just to mention that having a child of autism results in massively increased risk of poverty and divorce - marital and financial difficulties , social alienation, emotional stress and so on on ALL family members> parents are hardest hit but so are the siblings. So not surprising if there are higher rates of social and mental health problems where there is more autism. Having said all this we actually don't know if there is more autism in Utah then the rest of US. Could be that Utah is just better at counting :rolleyes:
 

Crux

Senior Member
Messages
1,441
Location
USA
Hi Natasa778;
I'm unsure that the high statistics of autism in Utah are just a result of good record keeping, (although we're known for that ), or, that it's quite true. I believe it to be both.

Folks here tend to under-report. There is fear and shame. There are authority figures to obey. Again, this happens everywhere, but there is a climate of silence here that I've noticed.

I have listened to some people who have had these experiences, and I admit that I have had some bad things happen to myself. ( I did not report. )
 

Hip

Senior Member
Messages
17,820
Hip, I was just reading Dr Seneff's papers on her home page. http://people.csail.mit.edu/seneff/
...
She's was, a year ago, especially interested in a possible effect of aluminium in vaccines.

Hi Anne, thanks for those links. I was looking at the possibilities of an aluminum in vaccines — autism connection a while ago.

Aluminum is used in vaccines as an adjuvant (an adjuvant is a substance added to boost the immune system so that the vaccine takes effect). Only recently was a plausible theory offered on how aluminum boosts the immune system: it is probably because aluminum raises uric acid levels, and and uric acid is released from damaged cells, and alerts the immune system to possible infections (which tend to cause damage to cells). So the raised uric acid will stimulate the immune response. Ref: 1.

(Makes you wonder why if it might be possible to put just pure uric acid in the vaccines, instead of aluminum, which might be much safer; uric acid is a normal component of the blood.)

With many neurological and mental health conditions now being linked to immune activation or immune dysfunction, you might expect that a vaccine adjuvant like aluminum could play some sort of role in precipitating autism.

Interestingly, silicone is another immune boosting adjuvant sometimes used in vaccines, and silicone used for breast and other implants, as well as silicone injections, very occasionally causes an ME/CFS like illness, or autoimmune conditions.
 

Hip

Senior Member
Messages
17,820
On the subject of whether or not the rise in autism is due to better detection methods used nowadays, compared to the past:

It is interesting to note that even in the present time, there is a substantial difference (> factor of 10) between the US states that have the lowest rates of autism, and the states that have the highest (see US autism map HERE). And again, presumably we do not know whether this difference is a genuine variation in incidence, or just a variation in detection methods and diagnosis thresholds.

It is also interesting that on the above autism map, the state with the highest autism rate (Minnesota at 1.4%), is right next to the state with the lowest (Iowa at 0.1%). That should be investigated, as there may be an important clue there.

Anyone care to speculate why autism rates in Iowa should be so low, yet Minnesota so high?