Comments on: The Autistic Brain at 6 Months

By: RAJ

RAJ — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 13:28:17 +0000

Autism is a strongly genetically influenced disorder. Recent research from evolutionary biology suggests that autism is not as heritable as has been claimed. In an article published in the SFARI Autism website The results, published online 16 December in Autism, bolster the hypothesis that de novo, or non-inherited, mutations that accumulate in a man’s sperm cells as he ages may increase the risk of autism in his children. The report suggested that advanced paternal age is seen in girls with autism. Girls with older fathers are more than six times as likely as those with younger fathers to show this effect in simplex families.

Evolutionary biology has demonstrated that all males may generate de novo sperm mutations throughout their lives and the frequency of sperm mutations increases with advancing age. Environmental factor cannot be ruled in understanding the mechanisms underlying de novo sperm mutations in males.

You can read the article and discussions at :

http://sfari.org/news-and-opinion/news/2012/effect-of-paternal-age-seen-in-girls-with-autism

By: Mlema

Mlema — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 19:21:37 +0000

ChrisH,
Your son is fortunate to have a parent who can intelligently conduct him through treatment.
You are both strong to maintain the course when you’ve had to make your way through uncharted territory. Again, all the best.

By: ChrisH

ChrisH — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 17:50:58 +0000

Thank you , Mlema. My son will be having surgery.

When the genetics expert was discussing his test, which checks only known causes of the abnormal heart muscle growth, she mentioned they could also test for the ones known to cause speech/language issues. I declined, since he is past the time it would have been useful and while he still has some speech issues he can read, write and be understood when he speaks. He is 23 years old, the science and technology was simply not there when he was three years old.

By: etatro

etatro — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 10:23:50 +0000

Maybe we should administer a poll to sort this out …

By: Mlema

Mlema — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 04:47:42 +0000

ChrisH,
I wish you and your family the very best.
Medical science advances quickly, but never quickly enough for those of us who are coping with the challenges of the now. Believe me, I understand.

By: ChrisH

ChrisH — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 04:29:57 +0000

Mlema:

s there any speculation on what may be causing the increase in these genetic variations?

More genetic research. My oldest son has a very severe genetic heart condition. The first genetic variation was found a few years ago. We are now waiting for the results of his genetics test to see which one of the hundred plus variations that cause the abnormal heart growth (and with that information we will test his siblings to see if it can happen to them).

By: powerhair

powerhair — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 03:04:29 +0000

Well, my older son (diagnosed with Aspergers at 5) had completely different eye contact patterns (basically refused to) for the first 6 months of his life. His younger brother (by far the most social person in the family!) made excellent eye contact from birth. Watching them now (aged 7 and 5), they clearly think differently.

So feel free to use this “Mother’s observation” against any anti-vaccine folk, since according to them, the power of the mother instinct trumps all that mere science can offer!

By: Mlema

Mlema — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 04:55:47 +0000

Interesting.

By: Woody

Woody — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 03:53:58 +0000

There is more than speculation, but if you are curious, google “Geek syndrome” and “autism”. Also check out work on the “Broader Autism Phenotype”. Note that these theories about assortative mating don’t claim to explain all of the increasing autism prevalence (there are other excellent blog posts here that tackle that topic), but they may account for some of it.

By: Mlema

Mlema — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 03:31:26 +0000

“…there is growing evidence that ASD is the result of a complex set of genetic variations.”

Is there any speculation on what may be causing the increase in these genetic variations?