Baby teeth from children with autism contain more toxic lead and less of the essential nutrients zinc and manganese, compared to teeth from children without autism, according to an innovative study funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), part of the National Institutes of Health. The researchers studied twins to control genetic influences and focus on possible environmental contributors to the disease. The findings, published June 1 in the journal Nature Communications, suggest that differences in early-life exposure to metals, or more importantly how a child’s body processes them, may affect the risk of autism.
The differences in metal uptake between children with and without autism were especially notable during the months just before and after the children were born. The scientists determined this by using lasers to map the growth rings in baby teeth generated during different developmental periods.
The researchers observed higher levels of lead in children with autism throughout development, with the greatest disparity observed during the period following birth. They also observed lower uptake of manganese in children with autism, both before and after birth. The pattern was more complex for zinc. Children with autism had lower zinc levels earlier in the womb, but these levels then increased after birth, compared to children without autism.
The researchers note that replication in larger studies is needed to confirm the connection between metal uptake and autism.
“We think autism begins very early, most likely in the womb, and research suggests that our environment can increase a child’s risk. But by the time children are diagnosed at age 3 or 4, it’s hard to go back and know what the moms were exposed to,” said Cindy Lawler, Ph.D., head of the NIEHS Genes, Environment, and Health Branch. “With baby teeth, we can actually do that.”
Patterns of metal uptake were compared using teeth from 32 pairs of twins and 12 individual twins. The researchers compared patterns in twins where only one had autism, as well as in twins where both or neither had autism. Smaller differences in the patterns of metal uptake occurred when both twins had autism. Larger differences occurred in twins where only one sibling had autism.
The findings build on prior research showing that exposure to toxic metals, such as lead, and deficiencies of essential nutrients, like manganese, may harm brain development while in the womb or during early childhood. Although manganese is an essential nutrient, it can also be toxic at high doses. Exposure to both lead and high levels of manganese has been associated with autism traits and severity.
The study was led by Manish Arora, Ph.D., an environmental scientist and dentist at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York. With support from NIEHS, Arora and colleagues had previously developed a method that used naturally shed baby teeth to measure children’s exposure to lead and other metals while in the womb and during early childhood. The researchers use lasers to extract precise layers of dentine, the hard substance beneath tooth enamel, for metal analysis. The team previously showed that the amount of lead in different layers of dentine corresponds to lead exposure during different developmental periods.
Arora said that autism is a condition where both genes and environment play a role, but figuring out which environmental exposures may increase risk has been difficult.
“What is needed is a window into our fetal life,” he said. “Unlike genes, our environment is constantly changing, and our body’s response to environmental stressors not only depends on just how much we were exposed to, but at what age we experienced that exposure.”
Prior studies relating toxic metals and essential nutrients to autism have faced key limitations, such as estimating exposure based on blood levels after autism diagnosis rather than before, or not being able to control for differences that could be due to genetic factors.
“A lot of studies have compared current lead levels in kids that are already diagnosed,” said Lawler. “Being able to measure something the children were exposed to long before diagnosis is a major advantage.”
The method of using baby teeth to measure past exposure to metals also holds promise for other disorders, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. “There is growing excitement about the potential of baby teeth as a rich record of a child’s early life exposure to both helpful and harmful factors in the environment,” said David Balshaw, Ph.D., head of the NIEHS Exposure, Response, and Technology Branch, which supported the development of the tooth method.
Grant Numbers: DP2ES025453, R00ES019597, P30ES023515 (NIEHS); HD073978 (NICHD); MH097849 (NIMH)
NIEHS supports research to understand the effects of the environment on human health and is part of NIH. For more information on environmental health topics, visit www.niehs.nih.gov. Subscribe to one or more of the NIEHS news lists to stay current on NIEHS news, press releases, grant opportunities, training, events, and publications.
The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, and the National Institute of Mental Health, also provided funding for the study.
So how are some pregnant women getting exposed to more metals? I know several women with autistic children, and they don't have jobs that would have subjected them to higher metal levels.
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LawyerLady
I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you.
So how are some pregnant women getting exposed to more metals? I know several women with autistic children, and they don't have jobs that would have subjected them to higher metal levels.
Do you know some gun, especially sugar free, has metals in it?
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Sometimes you're the windshield, and sometimes you're the bug.
Probably are metals in a lot of things we do not even think about. At any rate, this is an interesting study and deserves to be followed up. Any chance of reducing autism is definitely welcome...
A flock of flirting flamingos is pure, passionate, pink pandemonium-a frenetic flamingle-mangle-a discordant discotheque of delirious dancing, flamboyant feathers, and flamingo lingo.
So how are some pregnant women getting exposed to more metals? I know several women with autistic children, and they don't have jobs that would have subjected them to higher metal levels.
Do you know some gun, especially sugar free, has metals in it?
So we're back to artificial sweeteners, which I've been saying are evil all along.
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LawyerLady
I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you.
So how are some pregnant women getting exposed to more metals? I know several women with autistic children, and they don't have jobs that would have subjected them to higher metal levels.
Do you know some gun, especially sugar free, has metals in it?
So we're back to artificial sweeteners, which I've been saying are evil all along.
Yep. I admit, your are correct, including the the GMOs which I now believe are the bigger evil in our food supply.
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Sometimes you're the windshield, and sometimes you're the bug.
Autism is not new, nor the result of dietary substances.
It wasn't given a name until about 30 years ago.
You know it better as when someone would be called "backward".
It's also genetic.
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A flock of flirting flamingos is pure, passionate, pink pandemonium-a frenetic flamingle-mangle-a discordant discotheque of delirious dancing, flamboyant feathers, and flamingo lingo.
So how are some pregnant women getting exposed to more metals? I know several women with autistic children, and they don't have jobs that would have subjected them to higher metal levels.
Do you know some gun, especially sugar free, has metals in it?
Aren't guns made of metal?
-- Edited by Forever Sunshine on Monday 26th of June 2017 10:51:07 PM
Autism is not new, nor the result of dietary substances.
It wasn't given a name until about 30 years ago.
You know it better as when someone would be called "backward".
It's also genetic.
It's about a 1000 times more prevalent than it used to be. Hell, it climbed 30% just between 2008 and 2010.
And there is a whole lot of over diagnosis, too.
It's become the catch all for any type of behavior issue.
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A flock of flirting flamingos is pure, passionate, pink pandemonium-a frenetic flamingle-mangle-a discordant discotheque of delirious dancing, flamboyant feathers, and flamingo lingo.
So how are some pregnant women getting exposed to more metals? I know several women with autistic children, and they don't have jobs that would have subjected them to higher metal levels.
Do you know some gun, especially sugar free, has metals in it?
Aren't guns made of metal?
-- Edited by Forever Sunshine on Monday 26th of June 2017 10:51:07 PM
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Sometimes you're the windshield, and sometimes you're the bug.
Autism is not new, nor the result of dietary substances.
It wasn't given a name until about 30 years ago.
You know it better as when someone would be called "backward".
It's also genetic.
It's about a 1000 times more prevalent than it used to be. Hell, it climbed 30% just between 2008 and 2010.
And there is a whole lot of over diagnosis, too.
It's become the catch all for any type of behavior issue.
saheadnd
Cute.
You are not the only one who can read data, studies, and reports.
You want to hang your hat on poisons in foods for everything.
Go ahead.
But stop trying to discredit another person's knowledge.
Autism is not new.
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A flock of flirting flamingos is pure, passionate, pink pandemonium-a frenetic flamingle-mangle-a discordant discotheque of delirious dancing, flamboyant feathers, and flamingo lingo.
I don't think it's new either, it just didn't have a name. Back in my time it was hyperactive or misbehaved, or slow, even the "r" word. Which, was not meant to be derogatory, demeaning or critical, that's just what was used. I'm not sure anyone really understood it back then. And I agree that the diagnosis is overly used these days as well. They just lump a lot of kids into it, some have it, some don't, but it doesn't matter as long as they can pump them with drugs.
I don't think it's new either, it just didn't have a name. Back in my time it was hyperactive or misbehaved, or slow, even the "r" word. Which, was not meant to be derogatory, demeaning or critical, that's just what was used. I'm not sure anyone really understood it back then. And I agree that the diagnosis is overly used these days as well. They just lump a lot of kids into it, some have it, some don't, but it doesn't matter as long as they can pump them with drugs.
It has been around for a long time and probably has many causes including genetics and diet of the mother while pregnant. Many conditions in this world can be amplified by what is in our environment to include food.
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Sometimes you're the windshield, and sometimes you're the bug.
It wasn't long ago there was questions about vaccines and the link to autism.
But that was dismissed out of hand pretty quickly.
Why?
I once questioned the use of steroids as a possible link, but that was quickly dismissed as well.
But now one chemical is responsible when another is not.
It is genetic. One or the other parent has it in their gene pool.
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A flock of flirting flamingos is pure, passionate, pink pandemonium-a frenetic flamingle-mangle-a discordant discotheque of delirious dancing, flamboyant feathers, and flamingo lingo.
I don't know what over diagnosis has to do with anything. And I'm not sure there is as much over diagnosing going on as it seems, with any mental or physical disorder these days. I think things are becoming a lot more commonplace because of our diets, and genetics combined.
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Was it a bad day?
Or was it a bad five minutes that you milked all day?
I don't think it's new either, it just didn't have a name. Back in my time it was hyperactive or misbehaved, or slow, even the "r" word. Which, was not meant to be derogatory, demeaning or critical, that's just what was used. I'm not sure anyone really understood it back then. And I agree that the diagnosis is overly used these days as well. They just lump a lot of kids into it, some have it, some don't, but it doesn't matter as long as they can pump them with drugs.
A teacher tried to claim that my son had autism. Their reason was when he was working on a problem he would smack his forehead and another claimed he wouldn't look her in the eye. One of the teachers actually came to my workplace to tell me this. Of course I was freaked out and went to my husband's office in tears to tell him what she said.
He took my son out for pizza and found out that he got the slapping of his forehead from the V8 juice commercials and the other teacher was had a roving eye and made him uncomfortable. Instead of just talking to him they labeled (or at least tried) autistic. He was in 2nd grade.
A flock of flirting flamingos is pure, passionate, pink pandemonium-a frenetic flamingle-mangle-a discordant discotheque of delirious dancing, flamboyant feathers, and flamingo lingo.
If there is behavior issues, then it must be a disorder.
The spectrum is so vast, it tends to net a whole lot of those who simply are not autistic.
Not every behavior issue is autism.
Sometimes it's just lazy parents.
So, yes, it gets used way too often.
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A flock of flirting flamingos is pure, passionate, pink pandemonium-a frenetic flamingle-mangle-a discordant discotheque of delirious dancing, flamboyant feathers, and flamingo lingo.
No but like my son some so-called "professionals" can try and label a child. Yes I understand autism is most definitely real and know families that has a child with autism.
If there is behavior issues, then it must be a disorder.
The spectrum is so vast, it tends to net a whole lot of those who simply are not autistic.
Not every behavior issue is autism.
Sometimes it's just lazy parents.
So, yes, it gets used way too often.
For someone who gets so pissy whenever anyone dare discusses the abuses of the disability system, you sure have a hell of a lot of nerve branding other people with issues.
Let's rephrase your sentences -
If they have some pain or difficulty, then they must be disabled.
The number of things people can get disability for, it tends to net a whole lot of those who simply are not disabled.
Not every pain or difficulty is a disability.
Sometimes, it's just lazy people.
So, yes, it gets used way too often.
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LawyerLady
I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you.
Autism, something I have first hand knowledge of, have been inundated with information about, have been through classes to deal with, is not a result of food.
It is genetic.
Because the spectrum is so great, anyone who doesn't make eye contact, or won't immediately respond, or maybe shakes their leg during class, or won't stay seated, or they don't like change, or anything else that a teacher, parent, or ill-informed lay person can, and will, and have said "oh, this child is autistic.
It takes a battery of tests to get a diagnosis.
There are 2 groupings of tests.
One is a cursory grouping, the results end up being a 50 page report.
Depending on what that 50 page report says, the child may or may not need to do the next grouping.
It takes 3 days and nets a report of usually 100 pages.
It's based on everything from previous conception history of the child, that covers everything that can be learned about the parents.
There are mental tests, cognitive, associative, and retention abilities.
Speech, motor skills, sensory, group and individual, medical, educational tests.
There is a lot more that goes into diagnosing autism than just someone who has read an article here or there.
As I said, I know what I am talking about.
Yes, I do believe a lot of behaviors can be corrected.
As an example, my son would flap his hand. I began making him aware of it. It stopped after a few months.
He went through the tests, he has a diagnosis of autism.
I firmly believe a lot of the behaviors can be stopped.
I also believe there are those who want to label without proof.
And that is where the problem starts.
Now, my disabilty has also been diagnosed by doctors, 5 of them, actually.
And yes, I do get pissy when I read some of the crap posted on threads here.
Until you, general you, have been walked that mile in the shoes of anyone seeking disability, you really have no idea what you are talking about.
As for the topic of this thread, autism is gentic.
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A flock of flirting flamingos is pure, passionate, pink pandemonium-a frenetic flamingle-mangle-a discordant discotheque of delirious dancing, flamboyant feathers, and flamingo lingo.
Ok. You are just being obstinate and refusing to understand what is said.
I'm not going to play this game with you.
You know darn well what I mean.
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A flock of flirting flamingos is pure, passionate, pink pandemonium-a frenetic flamingle-mangle-a discordant discotheque of delirious dancing, flamboyant feathers, and flamingo lingo.
I'm curious...and I'm not discounting your understanding that it's genetic...why is NIH conducting research if they already know the cause?
We know that there’s no one cause of autism. Research suggests that autism often develops from a combination of genetic and nongenetic, or environmental, influences. These influences appear to increase the risk that a child will develop autism. However, it’s important to keep in mind that increased risk is not the same as cause. For example, some gene changes associated with autism can also be found in people who don’t have the disorder. Similarly, not everyone exposed to an environmental risk factor for autism will develop the disorder. In fact, most will not.
HOWEVER, variations in almost 300 genes have been associated with Autims and these explain less than 10% of the individuals with autism. So no, they DON'T know the cause.
As to the increase in diagnosis, sure there is a small number of over diagnosed and misdiagnosed children/adults. But for the most part, as science has gained better understanding of the disorder more people WITH the disorder are able to be diagnosed. And as the disorder itself has been reclassified and reclarified and expanded, the "numbers" seem larger. Ex, getting rid of Aspergers as its own separate diagnosis and adding it into the Autism Spectrum.
The same can be said with a number of mental illnesses. Depression was pretty basic diagnosis in the beginning with an almost small list of symptoms. But now we have subsets of Depression - major depression, persistent depressive, SAD, Postpartum, PMDD, Situational and Atypical. Before the better understanding (which is to say not a perfect understanding) people with Seasonal Affective Disorder would not be considered CLINICALLY depressed, but now with the better understanding on how light affects the brain, it IS considered a Depression Disorder.
therefore the numbers of people diagnosed with Depression has risen.
You can probably use this with a number of physical diseases, from Diabetes, to Cancer to Thyroid diagnosis really. And to dismiss a diagnosis as "overly diagnosed because people are lazy or looking for a cop out" is just plain silly.
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“One day, you will be old enough to start reading fairytales again.”
C.S.Lewis
Now. There may be outside influences that make certain ailments more likely in some.
Like cancer or alzheimers, just because you have the markers, doesn't mean you will have the desease.
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A flock of flirting flamingos is pure, passionate, pink pandemonium-a frenetic flamingle-mangle-a discordant discotheque of delirious dancing, flamboyant feathers, and flamingo lingo.
Ok. You are just being obstinate and refusing to understand what is said.
I'm not going to play this game with you.
You know darn well what I mean.
I understood EXACTLY what you said. I don't agree with you. I think you don't want to admit that the causes can be environmental and/or have anything to do with what we do or don't do.
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LawyerLady
I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you.
I'm curious...and I'm not discounting your understanding that it's genetic...why is NIH conducting research if they already know the cause?
We know that there’s no one cause of autism. Research suggests that autism often develops from a combination of genetic and nongenetic, or environmental, influences. These influences appear to increase the risk that a child will develop autism. However, it’s important to keep in mind that increased risk is not the same as cause. For example, some gene changes associated with autism can also be found in people who don’t have the disorder. Similarly, not everyone exposed to an environmental risk factor for autism will develop the disorder. In fact, most will not.
HOWEVER, variations in almost 300 genes have been associated with Autims and these explain less than 10% of the individuals with autism. So no, they DON'T know the cause.
As to the increase in diagnosis, sure there is a small number of over diagnosed and misdiagnosed children/adults. But for the most part, as science has gained better understanding of the disorder more people WITH the disorder are able to be diagnosed. And as the disorder itself has been reclassified and reclarified and expanded, the "numbers" seem larger. Ex, getting rid of Aspergers as its own separate diagnosis and adding it into the Autism Spectrum.
The same can be said with a number of mental illnesses. Depression was pretty basic diagnosis in the beginning with an almost small list of symptoms. But now we have subsets of Depression - major depression, persistent depressive, SAD, Postpartum, PMDD, Situational and Atypical. Before the better understanding (which is to say not a perfect understanding) people with Seasonal Affective Disorder would not be considered CLINICALLY depressed, but now with the better understanding on how light affects the brain, it IS considered a Depression Disorder.
therefore the numbers of people diagnosed with Depression has risen.
You can probably use this with a number of physical diseases, from Diabetes, to Cancer to Thyroid diagnosis really. And to dismiss a diagnosis as "overly diagnosed because people are lazy or looking for a cop out" is just plain silly.
Amen.
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LawyerLady
I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you.
Ok. You are just being obstinate and refusing to understand what is said.
I'm not going to play this game with you.
You know darn well what I mean.
I understood EXACTLY what you said. I don't agree with you. I think you don't want to admit that the causes can be environmental and/or have anything to do with what we do or don't do.
But you were adamant that those who thought vaccines could be a link to autism were crazy.
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A flock of flirting flamingos is pure, passionate, pink pandemonium-a frenetic flamingle-mangle-a discordant discotheque of delirious dancing, flamboyant feathers, and flamingo lingo.
Ok. You are just being obstinate and refusing to understand what is said.
I'm not going to play this game with you.
You know darn well what I mean.
I understood EXACTLY what you said. I don't agree with you. I think you don't want to admit that the causes can be environmental and/or have anything to do with what we do or don't do.
But you were adamant that those who thought vaccines could be a link to autism were crazy.
THAT has been studied to death.
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LawyerLady
I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you.
Not to mention, the good of vaccines cannot be ignored - small pox, polio, etc. WIPED OUT. That's a good thing.
What EXACTLY is the good thing about artificial sweeteners and putting unnatural food in your body. It's proven they don't actually help you lose weight. There is NO REDEEMING VALUE to chemicals and poisons as food substitutes.
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LawyerLady
I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you.