New research points to a previously understudied but fascinating mechanism by which environmental factors may lead to autism: it’s called the “GABA/glutamate switch” which is a critical period in development when certain cells turn from turning on cell activity to turning them off. These environmental factors may delay this process leading to long term effects on the developing brain consistent with autism. While this data on the mechanism is brand new, the topic of the environment in autism was inspired by a recent effort at NIEHS which is developing an interactive database for people to access information about what environmental exposures have been studied and how in autism.
Most people with autism have some sort of sensory dysfunction: hypersensitivity or hyposensitivity or sensory avoiding behaviors to touch, smell, sound, light. But a new study looking at kids from the Study to Explore Early Development (SEED) suggest that it may be more important than you think. In fact, it was the only feature to unify those with autism compared to those with developmental delay. Are there treatments outside of environmental supports to help sensory issues? There could be: a drug that tried and failed to treat other features of autism called arbacolfen supports the idea that this drug target could be helpful in treating sensory issues.
This week the media over-hyped a publication on a potential link between Alzheimer’s and Autism Spectrum Disorder. However, this new study did identify a new treatment target for some forms of ASD. Not all forms, but some forms. Not all forms of ASD have the same underlying neurobiology and while one treatment may help a larger group of people with ASD, they also may not. This week’s podcast explores potential treatment targets in 3 different animal models of ASD.
Sometimes treatment targets come from the places you wouldn’t expect. This week, three new studies on the biological and sometimes, behavioral, effects of three commonly used compounds used to treat high cholesterol, edema, and angina were studied in people with autism. Instead of focusing on just the behavior however, these studies took the approach of examining them from the behavioral side, determining if there was a biological reason why these compounds should be helping people with autism. This means autism research has turned a corner – it’s not just about behavioral improvements, but about how the drug is working in the brain. Also, a fun study about social media in people with autism. They don’t just use it like the rest of us, it actually makes people with autism happy.
Here are the studies included in this week’s podcast:
