It is likely that in the present study, enriched gram negative bacteria and its components leaked into the systemic circulation and could access different organ systems including the brain....Further, neuroinflammation may be triggered from other systemic inflammatory signals from the intestinal tract [80]. Evidence found in our study showed that toll like receptor 4, a pattern recognition receptor for the gram negative bacterial cell wall is activated in the small intestine, and the olfactory bulb...Chemical exposures through an oral or systemic route have been shown to cause significant inflammation and intestinal oxidative stress.

How does that connect to Autism Spectrum Disorder? -- Here is research that definitely points to the dark side of the AUTISM SPECTRUM.  It needs more than blue hues of light but instead a bright light of truth:

-- Environmental factors in the development of autism spectrum disorders   (and 116 other studies on Chemicals and Autism).

-- Toll-like receptor 4 signaling is associated with upregulated NADPH oxidase expression in peripheral T cells of children with autism.    (and 4 other studies on Toll-like receptor 4 signaling and Autism).

-- Innate immune receptor Toll-like receptor 4 signalling in neuropsychiatric diseases    (and 52 other studies on Gram Negative Bacteria and Autism).

-- Toll-like receptors: the swiss army knife of immunity and vaccine development    (and  1,491 more studies on Vaccines and Toll-like Receptors).

-- Reduced Incidence of Prevotella and Other Fermenters in Intestinal Microflora of Autistic Children     (and 188 more studies on the Microbiome and Autism).

-- The microbiota modulates gut physiology and behavioral abnormalities associated with autism     (and 177 more studies on Leaky Gut and Autism).

-- Interactions between the microbiota, immune and nervous systems in health and disease     (and 153 more studies on Neuroinflammation and Autism).

-- Oxidative Stress and Mitochondrial Injury in Chronic Multisymptom Conditions: From Gulf War Illness to Autism Spectrum Disorder     (and 49 more studies on Oxidative Stress, Mitochondria, and Autism).

This is yet another study showing us that it is indeed MAN and his chemicals causing this pattern of Microbiome damage.  Autism is, of course, the largest group, with so many young children and now,  young adults born back in the 1990's.  Our hope could be in this line of research, for both prevention and medical treatments, as so many continue to be afflicted ---  understanding how  individuals respond differently to exposures, what makes one person more susceptible to adverse health outcomes from an exposure than another,” she says. “Genetics only partially explains this.” Birnbaum adds, “We recognize the enormous implications of the growing awareness of interactions between chemical exposures and the microbiome, and we have begun exploring these issues.”

The problem ---- when parents bring up THE CHEMICALS that most often changed their child, that caused regression --- VACCINES --- the entire topic is then ignored and we ---- get------- nowhere.  To quote Dr. Bernadine Healy, who was the former head of the National Institutes of Health :

"There is a completely expressed concern that they don't want to pursue a hypothesis because that hypothesis could be damaging to the public health community at large by scaring people. "First of all," Healy said, "I think the public's smarter than that. The public values vaccines. But more importantly, I don't think you should ever turn your back on any scientific hypothesis because you're afraid of what it might show."

I am hopeful that this line of research will keep shedding a big, WHITE light, like a searchlight, on so many ill children.  My daughter is one of them.

Teresa Conrick is Contributing Editor to Age of Autism.