This week the @WSJ reported that the upcoming MAHA report will include acetaminophen (also known as Tylenol in the United States, although it is used all over the world) use during pregnancy as a cause of autism. Acetaminophen is used in about 7.5 % of pregnant women. This is one of many environmental exposures that had previously been investigated in association with an autism diagnosis, but then disproven following rigorous and large scale studies with the right design. For example, is it acetaminophen or fever during pregnancy? Is it acetaminophen or some sort of underlying genetic susceptibility? This week’s ASFpodcast explores the association and what pregnant women should know.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40804730/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40898607/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39982125/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38592388/

Are you the grandparent, cousin, aunt, uncle, sibling, or half-sibling of someone with autism and wondered “what is the likelihood of autism in families, and the likelihood of comorbid conditions if I have a family member with autism?” Researchers at the AJ Drexel Autism Research Institute and Aarhus University in Denmark collaborated to calculate probabilities between autism in a person and dozens of other comorbid conditions in family members. They not only made the paper open to the public for everyone to read it, but they also created a publicly available data visualization tool so anyone can go on and look at specific situations of particular family relationships relating to anything from autoimmune conditions to mental health and psychiatric diagnosis. Links below for reference:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39283002

Interactive graphs: https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/diana.schendel/viz/ASDPlots_16918786403110/e-Figure5

Very rarely are scientists able to look at single genes within the brains of people across neuropsychiatric disorders and understand how the genes in each of these cells influence expression of proteins and interactions of different cells with each other. Recently, a collaboration called PsychENCODE released a series of papers that investigated what genes are expressed in what cells in autism in different situations, how cells that communicate interact with more support or glial cells, and what mechanisms are in place to identify ways in which the broad environment (chemicals, contextual factors, illness) may influence gene expression leading to disorders like autism, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. This podcast summarizes these papers as they are related to autism – ore at least tries to.

https://www.psychencode.org/phase-ii

There are dozens of good reasons why scientists need to study the brains of people with autism. One is to understand what happens in the brain as people with autism get older and see how the brain changes over time. Another is to identify mechanisms of autism to help all neuroscientists figure out how the brain works. A third is improve medicine by determining what helps what people at what age. Scientists @UCDavis, @Penn and @UCLA examined the individual brain cells of people with autism to address these three questions, revealing that the autistic brain shows some similarities to brains of people with Alzheimer’s Disease. In addition, inflammation seen in the brain may be caused by too much activity of cells talking to each other. Studying the brains of people with autism is essential to better understanding and is made possible by families who are committed to research. www.autismbrainnet.org.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36862688/

Several studies have linked the immune system to autism, but how are they connected? Two new studies this week illustrate differences in immune function in those with a diagnosis compared to those without, and also find differences in the blood of of pregnant mothers who go on to have an autistic child. Women who go on to have autistic girls show higher levels and more inflammatory markers than mothers who go on to have boys, the finding of elevated IL1 is now a finding that has been replicated across countries. However, it’s too early to tell if this information can be used to help with a diagnosis and it’s probably not specific to autism. But the message is the same as it was before: getting sick during pregnancy is not great. Get vaccinated! Stay away from sick people and wash your hands.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35110990/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34987169/

On this week’s podcast, two new studies which explore the concept of subgroups of ASD are described. First, a “genetics-first” approach. Dr. Samuel Chawner at Cardiff University compares autism symptoms in those with copy number variants to those with no known genetic cause and asks: how similar to each other are they and can genetics be a way to subgroup? Second, the UC Davis MIND Institute explores the specificity of a subgroup of ASD based on presence of autoantibodies in mothers. Should there be a mix of the two and how do families interpret these findings? Listen here:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33384013/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33483694/

It’s been about 6 months since the COVID-19 pandemic began in the United States, longer in Asia and some parts of Europe. While scientists still don’t know the direct effects of COVID-19 in pregnant women on later development of their children, they do know about ASD following other neuroinflammatory responses. These include things like the flu, UTI’s, herpes, and other things that cause inflammation and immune disruption. This podcast reviews the evidence so far in humans and animals, with the goal of helping people understand that the threat is real, and that wearing a mask is not a mark that you do not have the freedom to do so. It is a reflection that you understand that the world is victim of a pandemic, and you want to protect others from getting sick.

https://reader.elsevier.com/reader/sd/pii/S0149763419302088?token=6A507B42E4214202ED738386D6C119F334516249286DFE65CDE1B73A0859F430F8C0600C592A04FF500B31454175C08A

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31824351

Hot off the press:  new data from a collaboration between the BSRC and geneticists in Canada demonstrate the utility of genetics to predict either ASD or atypical development in infant siblings of children already with a diagnosis.  Researchers have been trying to develop more precise biological mechanisms to make predictions in these infants, because they have a 15x greater chance of having a diagnosis, they can’t afford a “wait and see” approach.  Also, while genetics had originally been thought to be irrelevant to some brain pathology in ASD, it’s now been shown possible that it contributes to the immune hyper activation in the brain.  This week, Dr. Matt Anderson from the Autism BrainNet describes “blebs” in the cells of the brain caused by t-lymphocytes.  What causes them?  Genes?  something else?  Thank you to Dr. Anderson for joining in this podcast to explain.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31801954

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31591744

This holiday weekend always triggers a reincarnation, a resurrection of the vaccine – autism hypothesis.  Many of you have read about the measles epidemics that are hitting many areas of the country.  But besides vaccines, there are other aspects of the immune system that may be linked to autism in some people.  The include family history of autoimmune disorders as well as specific genetic mutations that confer protection against subtypes of ASD.  This week’s ASF podcast will explore these theories and present different ideas on how the immune response is involved in autism, and if it is at all.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30976114 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30975444

People with autism have higher levels of GI problems then people without a diagnosis, and the microbiome is associated with GI function, so is the microbiome linked to autism?  Some studies say yes, but this week studies in China look at non-caucasian people eating different diet.  Do the differences still hold?  Also, while GI  symptoms have been studied in relation to core autism features, they have not yet been linked to psychiatric issues like anxiety, ADHD, and aggression.  Until now.  This week’s podcast features three new studies looking GI issues and the causes of those issues, in kids with autism.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6204460/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30394313

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6143520/