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Is Autism an Infectious Disease?
Topic Started: Feb 23 2017, 07:26 PM (137 Views)
George K
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Finally
http://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/study-builds-argument-infections-may-cause-autism-n724421

Quote:
 
A study released Wednesday supports the argument that infections during pregnancy may cause some cases of autism.

Women who had active infections with genital herpes early in pregnancy were twice as likely to have a child with autism than women who did not, a team of researchers found.

The findings, published in the journal mSphere, add to evidence that inflammation during pregnancy may affect the brain of a developing fetus.

"We believe the mother's immune response to HSV-2 (herpes simplex type 2) could be disrupting fetal central nervous system development, raising risk for autism," said Milada Mahic, a researcher at Columbia University who led the research team.

Viruses can infect a developing baby's brain — Zika is the most notorious now, but cytomegalovirus and rubella also cause severe birth defects, including brain damage.

But that's not what's going on with autism, said Dr. Ian Lipkin, an epidemiologist and infectious disease expert at Columbia who oversaw the research.

"Most people, when they think about viral infections, think in terms of viruses going into tissue, killing cells, damaging cells," Lipkin told NBC News.

But Lipkin believes that, in fact, it's the mother's immune response — the inflammation — that's causing the damage. It may be that inflammatory chemicals such as cytokines are crossing the placenta and affecting the developing brain of the fetus, he said.

“We think that a wide range of different types of infections can cause this.”
For the study, Lipkin's team started looking at women who were pregnant in Norway in the 1990s. They found 442 mothers of children with autism and compared them to 464 women who had babies without autism in the same months.

The women were tested for immune responses to four viruses known to cause birth defects: cytomegalovirus, rubella, herpes simplex 1 (HSV-1, which causes cold sores) and HSV-2, also known as genital herpes. The women were also tested for the toxoplasmosis parasite.

The women with high levels of antibodies to HSV-2 midway through their pregnancies were twice as likely to have a baby later diagnosed with autism. None of the other viruses seemed to affect autism risk.

"The elevated antibody levels to HSV-2 may indicate either recent primary infection or reactivation of latent infection," the researchers wrote.

Herpes infections are incurable and can flare up throughout a person's life. They are also very common, so having been infected with herpes does not mean a woman is going to have children with autism.
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- Mik, 6/14/08


Nothing is as effective as homeopathy.

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Axtremus
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HOLY CARP!!!
So many things can go "wrong" to negatively affect a fetus. When the necessary technology becomes available, the whole pregnancy/gestation business should be moved to tightly controlled environments, such as an artificial wombs. Then all fetuses will be well protected from just about anything, the women can go about enjoying life and building careers without taking a break for pregnancy. No more delivery pain, no more malpractice suit against Obstetricians; heck, no more Obstetrician, period.

I need 100x $Million seed money for a new startup to build that artificial womb business. Who wants in?
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John D'Oh
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MAMIL
If they could develop a vaccination against autism that would be awesome for any number of reasons.
What do you mean "we", have you got a mouse in your pocket?
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George K
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Finally
John D'Oh
Feb 24 2017, 04:46 AM
If they could develop a vaccination against autism that would be awesome for any number of reasons.
Coffee - everywhere.
A guide to GKSR: Click

"Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... "
- Mik, 6/14/08


Nothing is as effective as homeopathy.

I'd rather listen to an hour of Abba than an hour of The Beatles.
- Klaus, 4/29/18
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jon-nyc
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Cheers
John D'Oh
Feb 24 2017, 04:46 AM
If they could develop a vaccination against autism that would be awesome for any number of reasons.
L-O-fvcking-L
In my defense, I was left unsupervised.
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Renauda
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HOLY CARP!!!
John D'Oh
Feb 24 2017, 04:46 AM
If they could develop a vaccination against autism that would be awesome for any number of reasons.
:lol2:
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