Dachel Media Update: Mom Jeans... Or Something Like That
By Anne Dachel
Read Anne's commentary and view the links after the jump. The Dachel Media Update is sponsored by Lee Silsby Compounding Pharmacy and their OurKidsASD brand.
July 21, 2014, Slate.com: Autism Linked to Common Genes--Environmental causes and specific mutations aren't as much to blame.
July 20, 2014, WebMD: Common Genes Implicated in Autism Study
The most surprising finding in this study is that the genetic risk for autism lies mostly in variations of common genes, and not specific mutations. A small mutation in a single gene can cause a disease such as Huntington's, and mutation of the BRCA1 gene increases a woman's chance of developing breast cancer. These sorts of mutations account for only 2.6 percent of autism risk, according to the new PAGES study, compared with 52 percent accounted for by common genes. In the vast majority of cases of autism, there is no one errant gene that codes for the disease, but rather a combination of common variations predicts autism risk. "You get a lot of the bad side of the coin and eventually push you into a disease," says Roeder.
Why didn't we learn from the "refrigerator mom" theory of fifty years ago?
It's always been the parents...It'll always be the parents!....bad genes, old moms, fat moms, moms who smoke, moms who drink, moms who marry old dads, moms who have babies too close together, moms who take anti-depressants,, moms who live too close to freeways...........................IT'S YOU MOM!
(I'VE BEEN TOLD THIS.)
We're back to bad genes..................(And would someone explain how genes could have created AN EPIDEMIC OF NEUROLOGICALLY DAMAGED CHILDREN?) Oops, I'm sorry. They've taken are of that. There's been no real increase....just lots of better....and better...and better diagnosing of autism.
It's so easy to BLAME THE PARENTS......(and let them all shamefully slink off in the shadows....)
Researchers compared about 3,000 people in Sweden with and without autism and found that about 52 percent of autism was linked to common gene variants and rare inherited variations. Spontaneous genetic mutations accounted for only 2.6 percent of autism risk. . . .
According to NIMH Director Dr. Thomas Insel, "Knowing the nature of the genetic risk will help focus the search for clues to the molecular roots of the disorder. Common variation may be more important than we thought," he said in the Carnegie Mellon news release.
Buxbaum explained that "within a given family, the mutations could be a critical determinant that leads to the manifestation of [autism] in a particular family member."
He concluded: "The family may have common variation that puts it at risk, but if there is also a [new] mutation on top of that, it could push an individual over the edge. So for many families
Is it the Dachel genes or the McElroy genes that gave John autism...we may never know............................................... The Dachel Media Update is sponsored by Lee Silsby Compounding Pharmacy and their OurKidsASD brand. Lee Silsby Compounding Pharmacy is one of the largest and most respected compounding pharmacies in the country. They use only the finest quality chemicals and equipment to prepare our patients’ compounded medications and nutritional supplements. Customizing medication and nutritional supplements for our customers allows them to achieve their unique health goals.
Anne Dachel is Media Editor for Age of Autism and author of The Big Autism Cover-Up: How and Why the Media Is Lying to the American Public, which goes on sale this Fall from Skyhorse Publishing.
Despite being touted as supporting the autism/genetics angle, if anything can be learned from this study is how truly dead in the water this approach is, and especially the theorizing about mutated genes. Even if we consider the epigenetics argument, this study would indicate that it is common genes, that most of us share, that may be influenced by environmental factors and causing autism. Essentially there is no unique subset of kids whose genetic profile places them at risk for developing autism. All kids are at risk. Perhaps Cia Parker is also right when she claims all vaccinated individuals are in some way damaged.
Posted by: Greg | July 23, 2014 at 01:04 PM
Swedish Population Substructure Revealed by Genome-Wide Single Nucleotide Polymorphism Data
http://tinyurl.com/lumw5za
(Abstract) The Swedes - especially southern Swedes - were genetically close to the Germans and British, while their genetic distance to Finns was substantially longer. The overall structure within Sweden appeared clinal, and the substructure in the southern and middle parts was subtle. In contrast, the northern part of Sweden, Norrland, exhibited pronounced genetic differences both within the area and relative to the rest of the country. These distinctive genetic features of Norrland probably result mainly from isolation by distance and genetic drift caused by low population density.
Which makes me curious how the researchers who compared about 3,000 people in Sweden with and without autism and found that about 52 percent of autism was linked to common gene variants and rare inherited variations .. dismiss the following .. from:
Autism Speaks .. dated .. April 23, 2013 .. "Beyond Autism Genes: Epigenetic differences in identical twins"
http://tinyurl.com/p835wgh
"Over the last 20 years, research has shown that autism stems, in large part, from DNA changes, or mutations, in genes involved in brain development. Much of this evidence comes from studying twins – especially identical twins, who share the same genome – or complete set of genes. When one identical twin has autism, so does the other around 70 percent of the time."
This particular study caused researcher Dr. Wong to comment:
“That nearly a third of identical twins differ in autism symptoms makes clear that there are also nongenetic influences at play in some cases,”
Wouldn't a study of "identical twins" in the U.S. be a better comparision for genetic researchers .. than a randomized study .. in Sweden .. of 3,000 autistic and non autistic.
Just asking.....
Posted by: BoB Moffitt | July 23, 2014 at 06:31 AM
OMG, I'm pretty sure I wore jeans when I was pregnant!
Posted by: Twyla | July 23, 2014 at 01:47 AM
".. Researchers compared about 3,000 people in Sweden with and without autism and found that about 52 percent of autism was linked to common gene variants and rare inherited variations.
********************
If researchers studied 3000 people with "exceptionally hairy asses ", they could also come up with ".. common gene variants.. " that could somehow be construed as being relevant to the development of that unfortunate condition. And the result of that study would be just as useless as to them, as this one is for characters like Insel who pretends to be searching for the "elusive" cause of autism.
The cause aint elusive, and it aint genetics. It's just incredibly incriminating for characters like Insel and the industry he serves.
If you want to impress people with genetics, then use it to explain why Homefirst Medical has 35,000 NEVER-vaccinated children, who have NEVER had even a single case of autism.
Posted by: Barry | July 22, 2014 at 10:15 PM
http://questioning-answers.blogspot.com/2014/07/common-variation-and-genetics-of-autism.html
Although no expert in genetics, my very basic knowledge is that such variations are structural in nature as per issues like single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). The presence of such mutations (which we all have by the way, dotted around our genomic landscape) whilst of interest, don't actually though tell you an awful lot about the function of particular genes as a consequence of those point mutations unless further studies are conducted. Genes for example expressing protein can be affected by such mutations but, as we've come to realise in the past few decades, gene expression is also to some degree affected by other variables, as per the rise and rise of the science of epigenetics and the focus on non-structural effects on the genome. ...ASD does not normally appear in some sort of diagnostic vacuum. As per the Gillberg work on the ESSENCE of autism (see here) or the 'big data' studies from the likes of Kohane and colleagues (see here), not only is autism an extremely heterogeneous condition in terms of presentation, but also a condition more than likely to co-exist alongside some heightened risk of certain comorbidity. It's all well and good saying that cumulative common genetic variants raise the risk of autism but, as per other biomarker discussions, we might very well replace the word autism with something like attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or epilepsy or even something more somatic along the lines of the various work looking at autoimmune conditions appearing alongside autism. In short, genetic risk might be related to other things outside of just autism or its individual traits,... I'd like to see a more comprehensive analysis taking into account both genetic and epigenetic factors crossing environmental contributions too. I'd also like to see more focus on smaller groups on the autism spectrum as a function of things like developmental trajectory or response to certain interventions.
See this too
http://questioning-answers.blogspot.com/2014/07/medical-comorbidities-in-autism.html
Posted by: Roger Kulp | July 22, 2014 at 07:33 PM