Study suggests autism begins ‘long before birth’

A study was done on the brains of deceased children and it was evidenced that something before birth might cause autism. It was shown that clusters of disorganized brain cells were discovered in tissue samples from brain regions important for regulating social functioning, emotions and communication, which can all be troubling for children with autism. These abnormalities were actually found in 10 of 11 children with autism, but in only 1 of 11 children without the disease. The children’s brains were donated to science after death and causes of death included drowning, accidents, asthma and heart problems. The authors of the study said the clusters, detected with sophisticated lab tests, were probably defects that occurred during the second or third trimesters of pregnancy.

Scientists have been working for decades to find the cause of autism, and they always believe its origins begin before birth. This study was published in the New England Journal of Medicine and scientists suggested that autism may be linked with abnormalities in the brain’s frontal region. The study follows Courchesne-led research suggesting that abnormal gene activity leads to an excessive number of brain cells in the brain’s pre-frontal cortex, located behind the forehead. The studies suggest that in children later diagnosed with autism, genetic networks that regulate prenatal brain cell growth are wrong. Larger studies are needed to determine how common the abnormalities are and what might be the cause.