Autism apparently begins even before birth

Autism probably develops in the womb

03/30/2014

Neither is autism curable yet, nor are the causes of the developmental disorder known. But scientists now seem to have made an important step in the study of autism. They found that the typical brain changes appear to occur before birth.

Typical brain changes before birth
Researchers around Rich Stoner at the University of California at San Diego have found that autism-specific brain changes appear to occur before birth. This was shown in the analysis of the brain tissue of 22 children, half of whom had the developmental disorder. The scientists found changes in the stratification of the cerebral cortex in almost all autistic individuals. Presumably, this results from the formation of different layers and the differentiation of nerve cells before birth, they write in the journal „New England Journal of Medicine“.

Tissue samples of deceased children
Autism is a developmental disorder that often manifests itself in early childhood and manifests itself in problems such as communication and other social skills. Although researchers had previously examined brain tissue from autistic people, this usually came from older people. The US scientists now analyzed samples of 22 deceased children aged two to 15 years. They focused on the cerebral cortex, which is arranged in six layers, in which different types of nerve cells with different networks are. The tissue was examined for genetic markers for the layers and also for autism.

Ten out of eleven autistic children lacked certain markers
Although ten of the eleven autistic children (91 percent) lacked markers for various shifts, only one in eleven other children (9 percent) did so. In addition, the changes did not spread evenly across the cerebral cortex, but were confined to small sites five to seven millimeters in length that extended over several layers. Although the location of the altered areas was different, it generally involved temporal and temporal lobes, but not the occipital lobes. These areas are involved, for example, in communication, social behavior or the processing of emotions. The researchers assume that the conspicuous areas are directly linked to the disorder, as this affects core symptoms of autism.

Importance of early diagnosis and treatment
The scientists write: „Given the well-described differences in autism, finding a relatively similar pathological feature was surprising.“ However, altered areas in different places could explain differences in the nature and severity of autism. The fact that even a non-autistic child had such changes, argues for the possibility that this does not necessarily lead to clinical symptoms. The findings could also explain why early therapy sometimes helps, because the developing brain could reorganize and thus compensate for deficits. „Although autism is generally considered a brain developmental disorder, researchers have so far identified no causative damage“, said the director of the National Institute of Mental Health, Thomas Island, according to a statement from this US authority. „If this study confirms a disordered architecture in the brain of some children with autism, we can assume that this reflects a process that begins well before birth. This underpins the importance of early diagnosis and treatment.“

Recognize autism faster
Eric Courchesne, from the University of California and San Diego's Autism Center of Excellence, said the report said the news site „Bloomberg“ to the results: „It is clear from this that autism has to arise during pregnancy.“ Thus, the disorder begins already in the second trimester. The new findings will soon make it possible to develop diagnostic tools and recognize autism faster. So far, it has always been possible to determine the developmental disorder by observing behavioral patterns in infants. However, the cause of autism remains a mystery.

Congenital and incurable disorder
Autism is usually described as a congenital, incurable perception and information processing disorder of the brain. Symptoms and individual manifestations can range from mild behavioral problems to severe mental disabilities. All autistic disabilities have in common an impairment of social behavior, such as difficulty talking to other people, or using facial expressions and body language. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), autism is one of the most profound neurological developmental disorders. (Ad)