Growing at a rate of 1,148 percent, according to the Autism Society, autism has become the fastest-growing developmental disability worldwide, appearing in one of every 88 births and affecting 2 percent of the United States’ age three- to 17-years-old population.
For those with this little-understood communicative and social interactions neurological disorder, the stigma of not being fully able to understand or appreciate social norms and accepted behaviors or to participate in activities involving banter or play leaves millions alone and isolated within their own minds.
However, recent research from the Mediterranean Institute of Neurobiology, may offer an explanation toward why this disorder happens. Dr. Yehezkel Ben-Ari and his colleagues at the institute found that the administration of bumetanide — an oxytocin mimic — to rodents susceptible to or exhibiting autistic behavior and to their newly-born offsprings 24 hours before and after delivery reduced the appearance of autism in the offspring.
Oxytocin is a neuron suppressor. It is released during labor to help shield newborns of the sensory shock of birth. Oxytocin impairs the flow of neurotransmitters, blocking the electrical signals between neurons. Bumetanide, sold under the trade names Bumex or Burinex — is a diuretic (forced urination-causing compound) typically used during heart failure in situations where furosemide has been proven to be ineffective. Bumetanide mimic Oxytocin by blocking the NKCC1 cation-chloride cotransporter, which reduces the chloride concentration at the neurons.
As chlorides — functioning as a salt — can conduct electricity efficiently, controlling it has proven helpful in controlling seizures. Bumetanide is currently under testing as a possible anti-epileptic drug. Ben-Ari feels that autism may originate from birth trauma that is “remembered” due to a failure of the infantile brain to produce the needed oxytocin to effectively establish the necessary mental shielding. This line of reasoning is backed by a 2006 study that shows that the absence of Oxytocin in mice at childbirth cause GABA (gamma-Aminobutyric acid), a neurotransmitter, to fail to tell the neurons to stop making chloride. This directly led to the mice being born autistic.
“We have proven the concept that in autism, indeed chloride is elevated and perhaps our diuretic acts in reducing that,” Ben-Ari told reporters on a conference call. “We have shown that if we administer the diuretic to the mother for 24 hours before and during delivery, the offspring is … cured.”
A study published last December in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that researchers from the Yale School of Medicine have discovered that a single nasal spray dose of oxytocin has been shown to significantly enhance social information processing in the brains of children with autism.
A mystery inside a riddle…
Ben-Ari’s theory is far from being a workable solution. Even after additional testing, the solution is unworkable due to the fact that there is no test currently available that can accurately predict autism prenatal. While it is unknown what exposing a neurologically-healthy child to bumetanide will do, there is a fear that the suppression of neurotransmitters beyond “normal” levels can lead to long-term damage.
However, Ben-Ari and his colleagues’ work have revitalized the scientific hunt for a cause and cure to autism. Research into the disease was slowed when a now-debunked 1998 study linked autism to childhood immunizations, which led to the lead researcher losing his medical license in 2010. The resulting call against immunizations — championed by “The View” co-host Jenny McCarthy — led to nearly 40 percent of all new parents refusing or delaying immunization of their children in 2008. This led to the first outbreaks of measles, mumps and whooping cough in the United States in decades.
One of the great problems in dealing with autism is the fact that the syndrome is so little understood. While researchers do know that there is a genetic underpinning to the disease — an identical twin is more likely to be autistic if its other twin is also autistic than if the twins were fraternal — there is no clear conscience on what genes are affected, how environment play into the developing of autism or when exactly the disease manifest.
Autism
Autism is an umbrella term, referring both to a specific disease and to anyone that is subject to a condition defined under the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 5th Edition (DSM-5) as being part of the autism spectrum. The spectrum consists of Asperger syndrome — a high-functioning disorder in which a patient would have severe difficulties in social interactions and interpreting nonverbal communications, while openly pursuing restricted or repetitive behaviors or interests; autism — the classical definition of the disease, in which both verbal and non-verbal communication skills are impaired and social interaction capabilities are minimal; and pervasive development disorder not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS) — a catch-all for autistic diagnoses that do not fit the other two categories.
Autistic symptoms typically manifest within a child’s first two years. As there is no pattern to emergence — some children experience gradual development of autistic behavior, while others may develop on a normal path before regressing — screening and diagnosis may prove to be difficult. As autism is a spectrum disorder, any proper screen must anticipate any level of severity in autistic behavior — from mild cases of social confusion to severe cases of communicative disfunction.
Due to the wide range of criteria in diagnosis, it is not uncommon for children who are naturally socially awkward — especially those that display high intelligence, an atypical mode of socialization or an intense focus on a single issue or subject –to be classified as being autistic or having attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Per a recent Time article, as many as 50 percent of children with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome — which can lead to anxiety and social awkwardness — have been diagnosed autistic.
On how a person relate to another
With the rate of autistic diagnoses rising — from one in 2,000 children before 1980 to one in 88 today — a call for answers have never been as desperate. Many feel that the increase in autism cases reflect a higher level of awareness than an increased prevalence of autistic development. As autism has grown to be increasingly socially-present — television shows, such as “The Big Bang Theory” and “Community,” and best-selling-books, such as Jodi Picoult’s “House Rules” and Michael Lewis’ “The Big Short,” all feature main characters that are on the autism spectrum — more people have grown to recognize the disorders’ symptoms.
Before her death, Nora Ephron mused about the autism spectrum. “Is every man in America somewhere on it?” Nora Ephron wondered in an e-mail to a friend. “Is every producer on it? Is every eight-year-old boy who is obsessed with statistics on it? Sometimes, when we say someone is on the spectrum, do we just mean he’s a prick? Or a pathological narcissist? I notice that at least three times a week I am told (or I tell someone) that some man or other is on the spectrum.”
As everybody — at one point or another — have had a moment of social awkwardness or difficulty in communication, it is a valid question to ask if everyone is autistic. During the 2012 presidential elections, both Mitt Romney and Barack Obama were alleged to have Asperger syndrome. While this idea can be argued at another time, it is important to note that — as tragic as autism is — it’s reflective of the difficulties everyone feel relating to his or her fellow man.