This week’s article discussed a new hypothesis for the cause of autism. It is called a redox/methylation hypothesis and suggests that environmental issues activate autism in individuals who are genetically predisposed to the condition. The hypothesis points a finger at heavy metals and xenobiotics (potentially harmful chemicals). However, it seems that if this were the case, autism levels should be lower now than they were in the past, which is not the case. National and worldwide government agencies have set increasingly more strict restrictions on the amount of heavy metals introduced to our environment. The hypothesis also mentions vaccines containing ethylmercury as a cause however, ethylmercury has been removed from vaccines and autism levels have only risen.
It seems that something else is playing a role in causing autism. The mother-child interactions both in-utero and once the child is born seem to be very important. It has been suggested that the mother’s attitude towards the fetus could be related. If the mother did not want the pregnancy or is unsure about her feelings towards the fetus, the fetus is not talked to as much and does not experience the same in-utero environment as a fetus whose mother truly desired the pregnancy.
Once a child is born their interactions with their mother are also crucial. If a child is not stimulated and given attention they may be at risk for difficulty with social interactions later in life. A child frequently left alone may become more independent and not desire interactions with others or not know how to properly interact with others. This seems to better trend with time and autism incident increase because mothers are more frequently going to work earlier and earlier after a child is born. A fairly average maternity leave may be as little as four weeks. After this point the child is likely taken to a child care facility of varying quality. With only a few adults per multiple children, a child is not getting as much attention as they would have say 75 years ago when many mothers did not work and stayed home with their children throughout their entire childhood.
Clearly the cause of autism still remains under investigation as no hypothesis seems to fully explain the disease. It is possible that many of the suggested hypotheses are working together as opposed to there being one single, easy answer.
Is there a single cause of autism?
