Autism an Autoimmune Illness? http://autism.about.com/library/weekly/aa092602a.htm

Recently there has been a great deal of speculation and research into the possibility of autism being an autoimmune illness. Always viewed as a mental condition or a condition that affects the brain, viewing autism as an actual illness puts an entire new face on how Autism Spectrum Disorders are handled and treated. It would be a major shift in the thinking of the medical and educational systems worldwide.

What is an autoimmune illness? The immune system is one of the most vital systems in the human body. It serves to protect us from illness by sending out white blood cells to find and destroy viruses and bacteria that can harm the body by causing illness. It is even possible for these cells to command a lymphocyte to destroy a cell that has turned cancerous. Normally this system works efficiently and without our knowledge. It is like soldiers being on patrol; working constantly and quietly to be sure the job is being done.

However, sometimes the system can go awry and the very cells that are there to protect us turn on us and begin to attack the body's own cells, tissues and organs. The result? Autoimmune illness. Common autoimmune diseases are rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and thyroid disease along with many less common diseases such as Addison's, Mixed Connective Tissue Disease and many others. The cause is unknown. Why the body would turn on itself is a mystery that researchers are continually trying to solve.

The possibility that autism could be an autoimmune illness is a theory that is being researched by several centers. Recent research by Aristo Vojdani, assistant research professor in neurobiology at UCLA and director of Immunosciences Lab Inc. in Beverly Hills, California, has produced a study that brings together a theory on why it is possible that infection produces the symptoms that are seen in ASD children.

Professor Vojdani studied the blood of children, both with and without autism, and discovered that the autistic children had an antibody that reacted to milk proteins and streptococcus and Chlamydia pneumoniae, two common infections. The problem is that the antibodies that are reacting to these proteins and infections are possibly damaging the blood brain barrier. Combine this with the fact that toxins, such as mercury or thimerosal, can then cross into the brain through the damaged blood brain barrier, causing damage to the brain tissue.

The Autism Research Institute at Yale is taking a more conservative approach and is recommending parents not change diets of their children until the research can be replicated. However, Bradley Pearce, MD, assistant professor of psychiatry at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta comments, ""I think there is substantial validity to the idea that autoimmunity is linked to autism."

The jury is out on the research. It will, as all research, take time to find out what role autoimmunity plays in the ASD puzzle but it appears that this is an area that will be delved into deeply.