Sat Jul 27, 2013 1:29 pm by 
Autism and the Immune System
Immunology of Autism
Author: Andrew Zimmerman, M.D.
Pediatric Neurologist, Center for Autism & Related Disorders Associate Professor of Neurology and Psychiatry: Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Kennedy Kreiger Institute.
Summary: Although there is much more research to be done, Dr. Zimmerman believes that abnormalities in the immune systems of children with autism and related conditions may parallel what's going on in the brain. Scientists are still looking for the connection, and how immune system and brain symptoms interact is still unclear.
What is known is that some cases of autism do have an infectious ideology, that is, they have been associated with congenital rubella as well as the cytomegalovirus. Herpes simplex and other viruses may also be involved.
After 20 years of research in this area, researchers have found that there are differences in the immune systems of children with autism and those without. A variety of studies have shown that from 30 to 70 percent autistic children have "distinct abnormalities" in their immune systems, including: A decrease in the number and type of T cells, a difference in lymphocyte function and a decrease in "natural killer cells." All of these may serve to increase their susceptibility to infection. Scientists haven't ruled out whether a direct or indirect infection of the brain may cause autism.
There are also specific types of T cells found commonly in autistic individuals that are also typically found in those with multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis and lupus, all autoimmune disorders. Those with autism typically also have low levels of IGG, IGA, IGM and positive antinuclear antibodies, such as are found in rheumatoid disorders. But doctors don't know what this means.
A specific human lymphocyte antigen (HLA) is found to be increased six-fold in autism. In the Tennessee Autism Society study of 65 families with autism compared to a controlled group, there was found to be a familial clustering of disorders. When two or three autoimmune disorders appeared in one family, the odds of having an autistic child were increased. This leads to speculation that autoimmune disorders might be a sign of genetic risk of a susceptibility either to an infection or a process in which the body's immune system reacts somehow against the nervous system, or possibly within the nervous system.
Immunology of Autism
Author: Andrew Zimmerman, M.D.
Pediatric Neurologist, Center for Autism & Related Disorders Associate Professor of Neurology and Psychiatry: Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Kennedy Kreiger Institute.
Summary: Although there is much more research to be done, Dr. Zimmerman believes that abnormalities in the immune systems of children with autism and related conditions may parallel what's going on in the brain. Scientists are still looking for the connection, and how immune system and brain symptoms interact is still unclear.
What is known is that some cases of autism do have an infectious ideology, that is, they have been associated with congenital rubella as well as the cytomegalovirus. Herpes simplex and other viruses may also be involved.
After 20 years of research in this area, researchers have found that there are differences in the immune systems of children with autism and those without. A variety of studies have shown that from 30 to 70 percent autistic children have "distinct abnormalities" in their immune systems, including: A decrease in the number and type of T cells, a difference in lymphocyte function and a decrease in "natural killer cells." All of these may serve to increase their susceptibility to infection. Scientists haven't ruled out whether a direct or indirect infection of the brain may cause autism.
There are also specific types of T cells found commonly in autistic individuals that are also typically found in those with multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis and lupus, all autoimmune disorders. Those with autism typically also have low levels of IGG, IGA, IGM and positive antinuclear antibodies, such as are found in rheumatoid disorders. But doctors don't know what this means.
A specific human lymphocyte antigen (HLA) is found to be increased six-fold in autism. In the Tennessee Autism Society study of 65 families with autism compared to a controlled group, there was found to be a familial clustering of disorders. When two or three autoimmune disorders appeared in one family, the odds of having an autistic child were increased. This leads to speculation that autoimmune disorders might be a sign of genetic risk of a susceptibility either to an infection or a process in which the body's immune system reacts somehow against the nervous system, or possibly within the nervous system.
