It seems that every year more and more children are being diagnosed with a cognitive disorder called autism. Over the past 32 years the number has risen from 1 in 5000 people having this disorder to 1 in 150 having this disorder. There are several different reasons that this could be occurring. One reason that this could be occurring is that there is a broad spectrum of symptoms that are related to autism. When diagnosing autism there are three different broad categories to look for in the child. They are social skills, communication skills, and behavioral skills. If a child has autism they might be more inclined to be an introvert, shy, appear unaware of others feeling and poor social behavior. The communication skills that may be lacking in an autistic kid is that they don’t speak very often, can’t keep a conversation going, and they may repeat phrases exactly as someone else has said them. The behaviors that may develop are a desire for an inanimate object, repetitive movement, or become disturbed at the slightest change in routine. All of these could be confused for a personality disorder or simply the unique personality of the child.
One idea that has come about when talking about autism is that there needs to be genetic screening to see if there is a way to diagnose the disease. The problem with that is there are so many mutations that are prevalent in autistic children is that it is hard to narrow it down to a few that may cause autism. One study showed that there are 130-234 mutation points that may be linked to autism. One of the more interesting mutations that occur happens on chromosome seven. If there is a deletion on chromosome seven in a specific region a child is more likely to develop Williams’s disease. This is a disease that children to me overly friendly to strangers and to be very social. If there is a duplication that occurs in this region, there is a tendency for the child to develop autism. This is interesting because one point in a child’s genome may determine a major characteristic of their personality. Another idea that was tested during study was that the researchers wanted to see why males are more likely to have autism than females. They determined that this is because females are more resistant to these genetic mutations. It takes larger changes in the genome for them to be affected. An importance to figuring out the genetics behind autism is that proper diagnosing can occur. Physicians will be able to figure out whether the child has autism or the have a personality disorder. This would change the treatment process of the neurological disease.
Another cause of autism is the diet that the person has. The diet can affect the molecules that are in the brain and how the brain develops. If someone has a diet that is high in linoleic acid (LA), it will be beneficial to the brain. This is because this acid promotes arachidonic acid (AA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). Both of these acids will cause brain growth and development. This will cause the correct neurotransmitters to be released in the brain. If the neurotransmitters, such as acetylcholine and serotonin, are not released correctly, the brain will not have correct neuron function and neuronal preservation. This can then lead to autism spectrum disorders.
Autism: Genetics or Diet?
