Disease/Health/Hot topics

Nature Versus Nurture: Environmental Factors in Autism

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The cause of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has been a question asked for years. Many have speculated yet the definite cause has yet to be articulated. Genes have been a large focus for researchers. However, with the increasing knowledge of epigenetics the role of the environment must also be researched. Resulting in the classic question how much nature versus nature?
 
In a review article by Andreas Grabrucker, a professor at the Nuerocenter of Ulm University in Germany, potential environmental factors were discussed. Although there were many factors mentioned such as prenatal viral infections, maternal diabetes, abnormal melatonin synthesis and toxins, they all seemed to center around two key environmental factors: immune dysfunction and zinc deficiency.
 
Many environmental factors lead to the dysfunction of the immune system. Some of the risk factors discussed in the article were prenatal viral infections, prenatal stress, maternal diabetes, parental age and gastrointestinal abnormalities. It was hypothesized that factors would lead to the increase inflammatory cytokines, such as IL-6, which leads to the dysregulation of gene expression in the P38 MAPK and ERK pathways. This may result in glutamate synapse dysfunction which will result in an imbalance of excitatory and inhibitory signals, therefore causing an individual to develop ASD.
 
Another environmental factor that may lead to ASD is zinc deficiency. Low levels of zinc can be found in individuals with abnormal melatonin synthesis, gastrointestinal abnormalities and those who have poor eating habits. Low levels of zinc will also follow the same path of immune dysfunction by resulting in a glutamate synapse dysfunction.
 
The places that have the highest rates of zinc deficiency are third world countries where their populations often suffer from malnutrition. By following the link between zinc deficiency and ASD, a logical assumption could be made that there is probably more autism in third world countries. However, according to studies this is not the case. Most studies on ASD in third world countries report lower findings of it than in the USA. This may be a misrepresentation due to lack of medical records in developing countries or this could indicate the although environment plays a role in ASD, genetics play a larger role. These findings bring forth the question of how much nature and how much nurture goes into the development of ASD.
 
For continued reading about environmental factors in ASD check out:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3548163/
For continued reading about rates of ASD in developing countries check out:
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/autism-spectrum-disorders/en/
https://spectrumnews.org/news/researchers-track-down-autism-rates-across-the-globe/
Feature Image:
https://youinc.com/content/leadership/nature-vs-nurture
 
 

Disease/Health

Autism or Superhero?

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Today, we live in a society purely built on profit. Life flies by at a million miles an hour all because businesses need to be more efficient, profits need to be higher, and things need to be made cheaper. Among all the chaos of everyday life, we never stop, take a second and realize we are all people on this big earth living and working hand in hand. That being said, if you have a disability in this society you are most likely out of luck. Businesses cannot have people who are slower than usual or work by different standards or communicate in “awkward” ways. We need everyone to be “normal” in order to function properly. This closed-mindedness is hurting us if you really stop and think about it. There are hundreds of thousands of highly capable minds out there that function much differently than the normal brain but are crucially important pieces to the puzzle and those special brains are called autism.
What is Autism?
Autism begins with a combination of genetic components and environmental factors such as abnormal eating, copper overload, viral diseases during prenatal care, perinatal stresses, parental age, toxins, low melatonin production, and gastrointestinal abnormalities. The complex interaction between these environmental factors and genetic components can lead to an overall zinc deficiency or immune dysfunction. As a result of one or both of these problems, glutamate synapses in the brain begin to develop “out-of-wack” because zinc is always a very important component in normal protein function in many brain pathways. Overall, imbalances in excitatory (stimulation) and inhibitory (depression) pathways arise in the brain due to deficiencies and this is known as Autism, or overgrowth of the brain and many more synapses.
Of all the diseases I have studied so far in my biology and chemistry careers, autism really does not seem all that bad, if a more functional type is involved. In fact, more synapses and higher brain power seems like just the kind of thing our society is looking for in order to prosper. Yet, we continually overlook the superpowers of these special but important people and the many impacts they can have on our society.
I am left with a final question:
Why would we choose “normal” people brains to do our work when we have superhuman brains with superhero abilities among us to do an even better or different job?
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3548163/

Disease

Autism: Factors Understood, Cause Not Yet Ascertained

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Starting a family is a wonderful adventure for many couples. Everything is expected to go smoothly, and more often than not it does, with the exception of a few hurdles along the way. In some cases however, the obstacles can cause complications with development or potentially permanent changes after birth.
 
Pregnancy is a period of time in which a mother must be exceptionally cautious and aware of her state of well-being. Certain environmental factors and health problems have the possibility of triggering the development of autism in children who are already genetically predisposed to the condition.
 
Factors involved with autism
The statistics show that autism is becoming more prevalent in children today. The levels are rising, but why? Researchers have been gathering data, and the results show that there are two common factors linked with the cause of autism. These factors are maternal zinc deficiency and maternal immune dysfunction. Both are attributed heavily to environmental factors, such as diet, parental age, maternal exposure to toxins, melatonin deficiency, prenatal infection, prenatal stress, copper overload, and GI abnormalities.
 
Zinc
All of these factors have the potential to influence zinc levels and/or immune function. The zinc deficiency is harmful because it causes neuropsychological symptoms, behavioral problems and learning and memory impairments. It can also lead to an excessive amount of the excitatory neurotransmitter, glutamate, which can cause seizures. Zinc is a vital element that it is found in every tissue of the body and is needed for enzymes to function properly. Pregnant women should be tested to ensure their zinc levels are sufficient, and thereby eliminate a risk factor for the development of autism in their child.
 
Immune System
The increased production of cytokines (cells involved in the immune response) resulting from immune dysfunction is dangerous because it causes inflammation, which can lead to excessive signaling and overgrowth in the brain. The cytokines have detrimental effects on neuronal plasticity, function, and viability. The immune response can be activated due to stress or illness experienced by the mother. The zinc deficiency, GI problems, toxin exposure and parental age also play a role in triggering the immune system.

Given the information described above, it seems as though autism could easily develop at the slightest health disturbance. The important fact to keep in mind is that a combination of both genetic and environmental components leads to the occurrence of autism. Considering the variety of factors that influence neuronal development, it is very challenging to pin point the cause of autism. This makes it rather difficult to stop the development of autism. The best prevention is for a mother to look out for her health during pregnancy by avoiding illness, managing stress, eating healthy, and steering clear of toxic substances.

Figure 2. Excessive excitation occurring within the brain of a child with autism
 
 
For more information on environmental factors in autism, please visit
https://moodle.cord.edu/pluginfile.php/625310/mod_resource/content/1/autism%20and%20environ.pdf

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Prenatal Risk Factors and Autism

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The embryonic and fetal stages of development are perhaps the most important time periods in your entire life, at least in terms of healthy development. Exposure to a number of toxins, diseases, and even some medications during this time period can have detrimental effects on an individual, and cause permanent physical and cognitive defects.

Timetable for the exposure of an embryo or fetus to certain teratogens, and the impact the exposure will have on the health of the fetus.

 
One such disorder is Autism.
 
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has been associated with a variety of environmental risk factors can be encountered during pregnancy, including prenatal infections, toxins, teratogens (substances that specifically harm a developing fetus), zinc deficiency, and health problems in the mother (1). While there is evidence these risk factors increase a fetus’s risk of developing autism, it is important to understand that autism has a strong genetic component as well; the development of autism cannot occur through exposure to toxins and other environmental risk factors alone (1).
 
That being said, here is a list of substances and other risk factors that are believed to contribute to the onset of Autism. This list of risk factors was gathered from a literature review that can be accessed via the following link: https://moodle.cord.edu/pluginfile.php/625310/mod_resource/content/1/autism%20and%20environ.pdf
 
Toxins associated with the development of autism:

  1. Valproic acid-a teratogen linked with life-long deficits in social behavior (1).
  2. Thalidomide- another teratogen that also causes phocomelia, which is a congenital deformation of the arms or legs (1). The effect that thalidomide has on a developing fetus depends on when exposure occurs.
  3. Organic phosphate pesticides such as diazinon (1).
  4. Some psychiatric drugs (1).
  5. Heavy metals such as mercury and lead (1).

 
Some health problems of the mother are also linked to autism:

  1. Maternal diabetes (1).
  2. Maternal obesity (1).
  3. Maternal stress, which is thought to negatively impact the fetus’s immune system (1).
  4. Older mothers are also much more likely to have children with autism (1).

 
Some viral and bacterial infections can also raise a fetus’s risk of developing autism. These diseases increase the level of cytokines, which are signaling proteins involved in the immune response (1). High levels of cytokines can result with inflammation in the brain of the fetus, which can disrupt the activity of some types of neurons (2). Abnormally high levels of cytokines are also associated with high levels of glutamate in the brain, and too much glutamate is another risk factor for autism (2). The following diseases are linked with the development of autism:

  1. Influenza (1).
  2. Rubella (1).
  3. Cytomegalovirus (1).

 

The Rubella virus

 
Zinc deficiencies are also thought to play a role in the development of autism. Abnormally low levels of zinc during the prenatal time period can result with permanent damage to the central nervous system (1). Zinc deficiency can also play a role in disrupting the prenatal immune system, making zinc a double whammy risk factor for the development of autism (1).
 
While it’s important to keep these risk factors in mind, especially if you’re a pregnant woman, it’s also paramount to understand that exposure to only one of these risk factors is unlikely to result with the development of autism. It’s also extremely important to understand that genetics play a huge role in autism, and that mothers of autistic children should not be blamed for their child’s disability.
 

Sources:

  1. https://moodle.cord.edu/pluginfile.php/625310/mod_resource/content/1/autism%20and%20environ.pdf
  2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5360854/

 

Image Credits:

  1. http://readingroom.mindspec.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Gene-eviroment.png
  2. https://image.slidesharecdn.com/boydpptch3f-2-140811134820-phpapp01/95/bee-boyd-lifespan-development-chapter-3-30-638.jpg?cb=1407764974
  3. https://www.kidrisk.org/mainFrame/MRinfo.html

 
 

Community/Disease/Health/Hot topics/Uncategorized

Pregnancy and Autism: Can I Prevent My Child From Developing Autism?

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Why the panic?

Autism and autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are becoming more prevalent as the years continue to pass, with about 1 in 68 children diagnosed with ASD. These alarming statistics are creating a sense of panic in some parents throughout the world, and many are seeking answers and preventative measures that they can take to decrease their child’s risk of developing autism.

What is autism, anyway?

Autism is defined as a neurodevelopmental disorder that involves an impairment of communication and social behavior, as well as various repetitive behaviors that are specific to an individual with autism. Autism has previously been linked with many different genes and some cases can be attributed to genetic changes and mutations. Most cases of autism are diagnosed by the age of 3 years, but scientists are starting to think that autism may be present at birth rather than develop as one ages outside of the womb. This emphasizes the importance of studying the factors that increase the risk of autism development prior to birth or prenatal environmental factors.
Figure 1. Genetic and environmental factors play a role in autism development.

My health = my child’s health

The heavy focus on investigating the array of genes that are involved with autism development has obscured the importance of researching the environmental factors that could potentially increase the risk of autism development, until now. Parents need to develop a general understanding of how they can influence the health of their children.
Scientists believe that the main environmental factors leading to an increased risk in autism development can be associated with two things: zinc deficiency and immune dysfunction.

Zinc’s fireworks show

Zinc deficiency increases the risk of autism development by increasing glutamate excitotoxicity within the brain. Glutamate excitotoxicity is comparable to a huge, dramatic fireworks show on the fourth of July, with all of the large fireworks being shot off continuously and rapidly, one after another. There is TOO MUCH excitatory signaling in the brain. This leads to an imbalance in excitation and inhibition within the brain, or irregular neuronal firing, influencing the improper neural development found in those with autism.

Immune dysfunctions can influence my brain?

Immune dysfunctions (illness, infection) lead to an increase in inflammation within the body via the rapid production of cytokines. This increased production of cytokines  influences other vital signaling pathways involved with maintaining proper neural connections and firing within the brain.  Similar to zinc deficiency, immune dysfunction ultimately leads to glutamate synapse dysfunction, or the improper connection and firing between glutamate neurons (neurons that release excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate). This involves the lack of proper development of glutamate synapses, as well as the lack of removal of glutamate synapses when they have been overproduced in the brain.

Prenatal Diet

Eating healthy is more important than many people realize for maintaining proper balances of various ions, metals, minerals, and nutrients within the body. This is particularly important when you’re pregnant and trying to grow a child.
Atypical eating can lead to both malnutrition and heavy-metal poisoning in the blood, both of which can lead to zinc deficiency. It is important to maintain a proper balance of copper and zinc in the body, because increases in copper (due to improper diet, heavy metal poisoning, etc.) lead to decreases in zinc (copper and zinc compete with each other). It is common for people on vegetarian and fiber-rich diets to become malnourished, thus leading to a zinc deficiency.

Prenatal Physical & Mental Health

Viral prenatal infections can directly alter the fetus immune system by elevating levels of cytokine production and causing inflammation, leading to glutamate synapse dysfunction.
Prenatal stress leads to an increase in cytokine production, leading to irregular signaling of various pathways in the brain, ultimately causing glutamate excitotoxicity within the brain (unnecessary, dangerous firework’s show).
Parental age also plays a role in fetal development and autism. It has been found that with increased parental age (especially paternal age), there are an increased number of mutations in the fetus that could lead to autism development. With increased maternal age comes increased complications during pregnancy and thus an increase in prenatal stress (described above). Increased maternal age is also linked with an increased risk of autoimmune disease, which could lead to increased inflammation and cytokine production, and thus abnormal fetal neural development.
Figure 2. The interconnectedness of body systems, genetics, and environmental factors.

Is there something I can do?

100 people are diagnosed with ASD annually; so the question is, are there appropriate preventative measures that parents can take to decrease the risk of their children developing autism? Science points to YES, but it is important to keep in mind that as of October 2017, nothing is 100% guaranteed to be effective in preventing autism. There are many other factors influencing autism development that were not discussed in this blog post and some that are not discovered yet. This highlights the major need for the continuation of research on ASD and potential preventative efforts.

  • DO NOT withhold your child from vaccinations (vaccinations DO NOT cause autism)!
  • Take your physician-recommended prenatal vitamins (high in Zinc)!
  • Eat healthy!
  • Stay physically and mentally HEALTHY!
  • Assess the risk of your age with a physician when planning to have children.

 
 
If you would like more information on the environmental factors proposed to increase autism development, please visit:
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2012.00118/full
Images from:
https://www.dealwithautism.com/forum/threads/what-causes-autism-in-toddlers-and-children.699/
http://sphweb.bumc.bu.edu/otlt/mph-modules/ph/autism/autism_print.html

Community/Health

The Role of the Environment in the Development of Autism

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Autism is a neurodevelopment disorder that is generally diagnosed at a young age. Over the past couple decades the rates of autism have been significantly increasing. According to the Autism Science Foundation, in the 1980’s autism affected roughly 1 in every 10,00 children. In the 1990’s it went down to 1/2500. Today, this number is significantly higher, affecting 1 in roughly every 68 children. So are these number really on the rise, or have we simply developed a better system of diagnosing it?

The environment plays a big role in the development of autism, especially while the child is still in the womb. Many different factors that affect the mother, can lead to the child developing autism. Some of these factors include maternal stress and a prenatal viral infection. With maternal stress, the increase in cortisol levels can affect the baby and lead to the development of autism. The stress can result in, according to an article written by Andreas M. Grabucker,  “postnatal immune function abnormalities such as the proliferation of lymphocytes or affect the production of cytokines.” The stress that produces this affect can come from many different sources, a common one being the stress of having complications occur during labor.
A common cause of autism is zinc deficiency. During the pregnancy, if the mother has a zinc deficiency, the child is highly likely to develop autism. This deficiency can be caused by an excessive amount of copper in the body, copper overloads zinc and will decrease the levels of zinc as more copper is in the body. Poor diet can also lead to a zinc deficiency. One interesting fact, is that as a women is pregnant, her levels of estrogen will significantly increase. Estrogen has been known to also decrease levels of zinc. That is why, in todays society at least, that prenatal pills/vitamins contain zinc. The zinc deficiency directly affects the immune system, making it worse and making the mother more susceptible to infections.
Another factor that can cause autism is parental age. More specifically paternal age. Women are born with a set number of ages and will not develop any more throughout their lifetimes. However, men are always generating new sperm and are more susceptible to producing some with mutations. The older the father is, the more likely he is to develop some with mutations that can lead to autism.
There are some genes that are associated with autism, and these genes may be influenced by the environmental factors that cause autism. There is still research being done to determine if these genes alone are what cause autism or if they just produce a predisposition for this disorder and it’s the environmental factors that cause it to develop.
There is one thing that we know for a fact and that is VACCINATIONS NO NOT CAUSE AUTISM. This is giant debate for people and it has been disproven years ago that there is no correlation or link between autism and vaccinations.

Sources:

How Common is Autism?


https://moodle.cord.edu/pluginfile.php/625310/mod_resource/content/1/autism%20and%20environ.pdf
 

Uncategorized

Zinc Deficiency and Autism

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What is Autism?
Autism, or autism spectrum disorder(ASD), refers to a range of conditions characterized by challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviors, speech and nonverbal communication, as well as by unique strengths and differences.
Multiple genes have been implicated in autism, there has not been enough substantial studies to identify all these genes and that is why it has been one of the most challenging neurodevelopmental disorder.
Genetics might play a big role in autism but so is exposure to specific environmental factors. Like:

  • Prenatal viral infection
  • Zinc deficiency
  • Abnormal melatonin synthesis
  • Maternal diabetes
  • Prenatal perinatal stress
  • Toxins (valproic acid)
  • Parental age
  • Postnatal risk factors

Why is zinc important?
Studies have shown that there is a relation between levels of zinc and autism. Zinc plays a role:

  • enzyme function
  • nucleic acid metabolism
  • growth
  • cellular repair

In pregnant women and newborns, zinc ions help in active site of more than 300 kinds of enzymes and zinc-finger sequences exist in about 10% of the total gene-coded proteins. Zinc deficiency might be a major factor in the etiology of behavioral and mood disturbances in humans. Zinc deficiency is high in children diagnosed with ASD.
Studies have found that zinc levels in autistic patients are a lot lower than  in normal people, by measuring zinc levels in the plasma, hair, and nails of autistic patients, they found that concentrations of zinc trace elements were not normal.
Can we give zinc supplement to autistic patients?
The answer is yes. There is no known cure for autism yet. But medical nutrition therapy, and use of dietary supplements containing zinc can be a good solution.
Foods high in Zinc include:

  • Oysters
  • Crab
  • Beef (chuck roast)
  • Lobster
  • Cashews ( and most seeds)
  • Pork and chicken

How much zinc should I take?

  • The body doesn’t readily store zinc, so you need to get some every day—but only a small amount. The recommended daily allowance (RDA) is 8 mg per day for women. That number rises to 11 mg for pregnant women, and 12 mg for nursing mothers. Meanwhile, vegetarians may need to take in as much as 50% more than the RDA—the body absorbs less zinc from plant-based foods than from meat sources (a term called bioavailability).

Those with autism or families with an autistic patient have to be careful though. In a new study, researchers with the Autism Speaks Autism Treatment Network (ATN) found that supplements and special diets for children with autism commonly result in excessive amounts of some nutrients and deficiencies in others. In particular, they found that many of the children in their study were consuming high and potentially unsafe levels of vitamin A, folic acid and zinc while not getting enough calcium and vitamin D. https://www.autismspeaks.org/science/science-news/kids-autism-supplements-often-result-nutrient-imbalances
 

 
visit those cites for more info:
https://www.autismspeaks.org/what-autism
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5100031/

Disease/Health

Genetic & Environmental Factors in Autism

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The causes of ASD are a hot topic in both scientific research and the media in recent years. As scientists are investigating just the top of the pile of possible causes, they share their findings, get peers to review their work, publish papers, and continue to research further.

Possible Causes

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has been found to be caused by both environmental and genetic factors. Environmental factors like zinc deficiency and immune system dysfunctions lead to glutamate synapse dysfunction. This dysfunction results in an imbalance of excitatory and inhibitory signaling in the brain that we see manifest as ASD. The range of environmental risk factors for autism include prenatal viral infection, zinc deficiency, abnormal melatonin synthesis, maternal diabetes, prenatal & perinatal stress, toxins, parental age, and postnatal risk factors. These risk factors are interconnected with each other to create changes in the body that result in ASD. One thing made absolutely clear is that vaccines do not cause ASD as so far established in scientific research. As research further into these environmental factors continues, the hope is that we will gain insight into ways to prevent ASD.

Genetics also seems to play an important role in the acquisition of ASD. Many studies have been published and peer reviewed indicating autism-risk genes and their functions. Below is a figure summarizing a few with their role in the body.

Clearly, the possible causes of autism are numerous and complicated in their interrelatedness and more research is needed to be able to answer questions of prevention.

Need for Verification & Critical Thinking

Sometimes people read research findings and misconstrue them. Celebrities, media, and the general public may summarize a take away from a paper and miss important qualifications and explanations of the findings. This is when critical thinking and thorough fact checking is important.
I for one certainly understand how easy it is to read a headline while scrolling through Facebook or surfing other media sources click on it, read it, and take what is said as truths. The thing is, it’s really easy to write something people will believe. There’s a whole form of writing based on it. I don’t take the time to fact check and research on multiple sources everything I read on the internet. That’d be pretty much impossible and pretty useless for a lot of topics. However, there are certainly some topics or more importance that it is necessary to research further, check sources, and apply critical thinking skills.
As a science major who is hoping to become a physician, I am convinced of truth by scientific research and evidence. However, I will be working with the general public on a daily basis and not everyone makes decisions on what they believe based on science and critical thinking. Celebrities, trusted people, family, friends, and religions influence people’s beliefs. All those sources are great for forming a person’s beliefs regarding life, but when it comes to beliefs about personal health and disease scientific research is key to finding truths.

For more on environmental factors and autism: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3548163/pdf/fpsyt-03-00118.pdf
For more on ASD-risk genes: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5501701/pdf/nihms6544.pdf
Feature image: https://elbiruniblogspotcom.blogspot.com/2015/01/gene-gene-and-gene-environment.html
Vaccine image and vaccine myths: http://www.cnn.com/videos/world/2015/08/19/spc-vital-signs-polio-vaccines-c.cnn
Critical thinking image: https://funginstitute.berkeley.edu/research/

Uncategorized

The Balance Between Environmental and Genetic Factors in Autism

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We know that autism is a developmental disorder that impacts communication and social interaction. However, what is the cause of this debilitating disorder that effects so many? We can say for sure that vaccines do not cause autism, but our genes play a significant role in the onset of the disease. Another very important factor is related to environmental factors. The environmental impacts can be boiled down to two problems in the body: zinc deficiency and immune system abnormalities. Either of these problems in the body can lead to an increased risk of autism and often begins when a child is in the womb.
Genetic Component:
Autism has been linked to a mutation in the Shank2 and Shank3 proteins in the body. These proteins can be found in the postsynaptic neuron in the postsynaptic density (PSD). This area is basically a grouping of proteins that is responsible for strengthening the synapse between the pre and postsynaptic neurons. This makes synapses stronger when a signal is passed across the synaptic cleft. Shank2 and Shank3 are scaffolding proteins that are responsible for holding proteins in place in the PSD so that when a signal is transmitted to the postsynaptic neuron, all the proteins are in place to cause a response in the body. These two proteins specifically are involved with the NDMA receptors and mGlu receptors. These pathways are implicated in cell growth by modification of transcription factors in the nucleus. Mutations in these proteins which impact their scaffolding ability have been discovered in those with autism. We are not necessarily sure why this is related to autism, but in mouse models those with mutated Shank2 and Shank3 proteins show phenotypes similar to those with autism. Along with this, they show an upregulation NDMA and mGlu receptors probably because they need more receptors to cause the same response in the body without a functioning shank protein.

In this image you can see the Shank protein and its association with the mGluR. This association leads to a stronger synapse that activates the ERK pathway and leads to a change in gene translation in the nucleus.
Zinc Deficiency:
I would like to focus on the environmental factor of zinc deficiency as it plays a vital role in the shank protein mechanism. Zinc is very important throughout the body and is required for many of the bodily processes. However, it is very necessary in the PSD as it activates Shank proteins and causes them to stick together forming a scaffold that proteins can stick to. With a lack of zinc, it can cause Shank proteins to be faulty which could contribute to autism related symptoms. Zinc deficiencies are related to melatonin imbalances which can lead to abnormal sleep schedule or inability to sleep well which is a symptom of those with autism. It is also related to malnutrition and copper overload in the body. If a person is not eating well, they will not have enough zinc in the body to support all of its functions. Also, copper and zinc are related in the body because as copper levels rise, zinc levels are low and vice versa. Overall, a zinc deficiency can have many negative impacts in the body and can begin affecting a child when it is in the womb if the mother has too low levels of zinc.
Autism:
Although we do not know the exact cause of autism or how to combat it, it is sure that genetic and environmental factors both play a vital role in the development of the disorder. At this point, it is unclear of what an effective treatment for these problems is, however, a healthy diet and avoiding infections and stress during pregnancy is a good start. Although, sometimes even doing everything right can still lead to autism as genetics play a very vital role. In the future, we can only hope that research leads us far enough so that we have the ability to treat and/or cure this disorder.
 
Please read if you would like to learn more about environmental factors and autism:
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2012.00118/full
Cover image found from:
http://readingroom.mindspec.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Picture1-300×221.png
In text image found from:
http://flipper.diff.org/apprulesitems/items/6885

Uncategorized

What’s With Your Anxiety?

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Did you know that the US has the third highest rate of anxiety?
 
What is it?
Is it our lifestyle or is it our brains?
 
Lifestyle
Our community ideals promote a lifestyle that is so focused on reaching a goal, and with that goal comes a promise of happiness. What we don’t consider is the stress related to achieving our goals and how we put so much stress on evaluations by our superiors. The constant stress form jobs, classes, or family/friends will contribute to anxiety and keep any of us on the edge.
 
The problem is that with our age, research shows that our anxiety and stress levels go up because of what we get worried about! As we age our stress shifts from our future to if we have lived our lives correctly. The problem is also that little things in life can increase our stress and therefore increase the chance of anxiety.
Continue reading →

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