I know. I know. This is not ME/CFS but I firmly believe there is a connection since I have relatives that suffer from both ME/CFS and autism. I had a very healthy family and so did my ex-husband. In 1996, my father was diagnosed and died from a glioblastoma brain tumour. My uncle's aunt (also in the same city and saw often) was diagnosed with MS the same year and died a year and half ago. My ex-husband's sister started suffering from ME/CFS in 1998 (and so did my aunt). It took several years for them to be officially diagnosed. In 1998, my first son was born and was officially diagnosed with autism in 2002. My other son soon followed. Here I am, this healthy 40 something year old and I am watching my family suffer and instead of feeling helpless, I try very hard to find answers to what is happening.
According to the latest David Kirby Huffington Piece on autism (btw- you should check out his articles on factory farming as well), the EPA came out and acknowledged that the autism boom started in 1988 and this is just not genetic nor is this simply a case of better diagnosis. I do wish we had more statistics and research on ME/CFS. It would be great to have some numbers to look at to see when this upward trends started as well. Of course, I believe there are many people that have ME/CFS that have NOT been diagnosed which makes it even more difficult.
In this David Kirby piece, he does cite XMRV retrovirus as one of the possible causes of autism.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-kirby/autism-vaccine-epa-study_b_548837.html
One more note, I do wish he did not add that part in regarding the work has been disputed by other scientists. The "other scientists" have not even investigated the link between autism and XMRV and the "other scientists" are psychologists/psychiatrists that have a political axe to grind with ME/CFS being a medical disease.
According to the latest David Kirby Huffington Piece on autism (btw- you should check out his articles on factory farming as well), the EPA came out and acknowledged that the autism boom started in 1988 and this is just not genetic nor is this simply a case of better diagnosis. I do wish we had more statistics and research on ME/CFS. It would be great to have some numbers to look at to see when this upward trends started as well. Of course, I believe there are many people that have ME/CFS that have NOT been diagnosed which makes it even more difficult.
In this David Kirby piece, he does cite XMRV retrovirus as one of the possible causes of autism.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-kirby/autism-vaccine-epa-study_b_548837.html
RETROVIRUSES - In October, researchers from the University of Nevada, the National Cancer Institute and The Cleveland Clinic announced the startling discovery of antibodies to a little known retrovirus in 95 percent of patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. One of the researchers reported finding the same pathogen in 40 percent of autsim children tested. The work has been disputed by other scientists