Autism gene stunts neurons, Growth can be restored

Autism gene stunts neurons, but growth can be restored

Brown University researchers have traced a genetic deficiency implicated in autism in humans to specific molecular and cellular consequences that cause clear deficits in mice in how well neurons can grow the intricate branches that allow them to connect to brain circuits. The researchers also show in their study (online Sep. 12, 2013, in Neuron) that they could restore proper neuronal growth by compensating for the errant molecular mechanisms they identified.

Effective or Health Fraud? DNA Testing and Autism

Autism Cures Promised by DNA Testers Belied by Regulators - Businessweek

April Hauge, a nurse practitioner in Weimar, California, spent $500 on a genetic test for her autistic son in 2009 that led to purchasing thousands of dollars in vitamins and supplements. Impressed with the results, she’s now selling advice on the approach to others.

There’s just one problem: the DNA tests and related treatments have scant backing from science and U.S. government officials. They’re untested, unproven, and may constitute “health fraud,” doctors, regulators and concerned parents said.

For alternative-medicine providers in general, the genetic tests are nothing but a “marketing tool” to sell unproven treatments, said James Laidler, a retired physician and adjunct professor at Portland State University whose 19-year-old autistic son has tried alternative therapies.

“You always hear the testimonials from the people who got better, not the people who stayed the same or got worse,” Laidler said. “They don’t want to hear somebody saying this is snake oil.”

Doctors and clinics across the U.S. are using the exploding science of DNA testing to feed anxieties and sell hope to people with autism and other hard-to-treat disorders.

Emboldened by meager state and federal regulation, purveyors of alternative medicine offer genetic tests costing hundreds of dollars to worried parents and patients, and then sell advice on supplements and diet based on results purporting to spot disease-causing deficiencies. They claim to be the panacea for everything from autism to chronic fatigue syndrome to the effects of aging.

More @ http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-12-21/autism-cures-promised-by-dna-testers-belied-by-regulators#p1

Autism May Begin at Very Early Phases of Brain Development | Blog | Autism Speaks

Autism May Begin at Very Early Phases of Brain Development | Blog | Autism Speaks

Ten years ago, my research team found evidence of brain overgrowth in many toddlers who developed autism. Just last year, we published a study showing that the larger brains of young children with autism have an excess number of brain cells, or neurons, in the part of the brain known as the frontal cortex. In the study we published today, we found clues to how this excess occurs. 

Our study found dysfunction in several gene networks that may affect the number of neurons that are generated during the second trimester of pregnancy, when about 40 billion neurons are produced in the developing brain. We also found abnormality in gene networks that affect the number of neurons that survive through the second and third trimesters. Not all early neurons are meant to survive. Some play temporary roles during brain development and are supposed to die off when their job is done. In fact, “apoptosis” or naturally occurring cell death, is a normal and important part of prenatal brain development. By way of analogy, consider the scaffolding set up when constructing a building and then taken down once the building is finished. With autism, one possibility is that some of these “scaffolding” neurons remain. This may contribute to the excess of neurons and abnormal brain wiring. 

These findings are exciting. We’ve known that something happens very, very early in the development of the brain: There are too many neurons in frontal brain regions. Now, we also know some of the genetic basis for this: abnormal gene activity in specific networks. This appears to rule out many speculations about post-natal causes of autism. Instead, it points strongly to prenatal events, at least in a majority of cases. 

Importantly, this gives us hope that, one day, research will find ways to normalize gene activity and related neural growth and function. Normally frontal brain circuits are not fully formed at birth. They develop slowly across childhood. This provides a wide window of opportunity for intervention.

Autism, Genetic Causes, and Possible Future Treatments ...

This article felt the need to debunk vaccines and is attracting a lot neuro-diverse comments, but given that my daughter has seizures, I am very interesting in anything related to synapses.

New Research Sheds Light on Autism’s Genetic Causes

Autism remains one of the most poorly understood and troubling developmental disorders of modern medicine. But the genetic revolution could turn that around. Recent research by the groundbreaking Autism Genome Project has identified key mutations and susceptibility genes involved in the disorder. Down the road, this could pave the way for new treatments.

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The AGP study also identified four susceptibility genes involved in cellular proliferation, synapse development, and signaling between neurons ...

More .... New Research Sheds Light on Autism’s Genetic Causes