How Brain Inflammation May Aid Autism 

Autism, a disease of serious developmental disorder that impairs the ability of a person to communicate and interact, may be caused by inflammation of the brains of young people, according to research published in Science Translational Medicine recently.
Prior to the origins of many neurodevelopment disorders, which remain uncertain, the new study of post-modern brain tissue from children who died between the ages of one and five has shown how inflammation affects the brain.
For the first time, researchers from the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM)  discovered that inflammation alters the development of vulnerable brain cells and this could have mechanistic links to neurodevelopmental disorders and could lead to treatments for many different childhood  – on set neurodevelopmental disorders.
The UMSOM’s Institute for Genome Sciences (IGS), Department of Pharmacology and the University of Maryland Medicine Institute of Neuroscience Discovery (UM – MIND) conducted the research. The study is part of a collection of nearly 30 papers describing the development and diversity of cell types in the human brain.
Though previous research had shown that babies born with abnormalities of the cerebellum frequently go on to experience neurodevelopmental disorders, the new study specifically looked at the cerebellum because it is one of the first brain regions to begin developing and one of the last to reach its maturity, but remained understudied.
The lead author of the research team, IGS Scientist and Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at UMSOM, Seth Ament, Ph.D, stated that, “with the fairly new technology of single nucleus RNA sequencing, we could look at the cell level and see changes in the brain”. Also, the Co – Leader of the research team, the James and Carolyn Frenkil Dean’s Professor and Chair in Pharmacology and Director of UM – MIND, Margaret McCarthy, Ph.D,added, “This has never been done before in this age group and in the context of inflammation.  The gene expression in the cerebella of children and inflammation were remarkably consistent”.
From the report,  the researchers examined donated post mortem brain tissues of 17 children who died when they were one to five years old, eight from conditions that involved inflammation and nine from accidents.
None of the donors had been diagnosed with a neurological disorder prior to death. The two groups were similar in age, gender, race/ethnicity and time since death.  These unique brain tissue specimens had been collected over many years by UMSOM researchers at the University of Maryland Brain and Tissue  Bank.
According to the study, two specific, yet rare types of cerebellar neurons were most vulnerable to brain inflammation  – the Golgi and  Purkinje neutrons. At the single cell level, these two types of neurons showed premature disruption of their maturation.
Dr Ament said, “although rare, Purkinje and Golgi neutrons have critical functions. During development, Purkinje neurons form synapses connecting the cerebellum to other brain regions involved in cognition or emotional control, while Golgi neurons  coordinate communication between cells within the cerebellum. Disruption of either of these developmental processes could explain how inflammation contributes to conditions like autism spectrum disorders and schizophrenia”.
Also, the UMSOM Dean, who is also Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs, UM Baltimore, Dr. Mark Gladwin said, “this study is one of the first to show that gene expression challenges during inflammation which may set the stage for later cellular dysfunction,such as reducing synaptic connectivity or altering energy metalbolism.
“It is critical to understand these mechanisms and changes at the cellular level during brain development in the hope that someday we can develop treatments for neurodevelopmental disorders “, stated a distinguished professor at UMSOM, Akiko Bowers.
However, more studies indicate that the rate of autism is rising. A growing area of research focuses on interaction of genetic and environmental factors. It is likely that a woman’s exposure to harmful contaminants during pregnancy may trigger a genetic mutation leading to autism in her child.  No link has been found between autism and vaccines, including those containing thimerosal, a mercury based compound.
Other environmental factors that may be associated with autism include advanced parental age as at time of conception, pre natal exposure to air pollution or certain pesticides, maternal obesity, diabetes or immune system disorders, extreme prematurity or very low birth weight and any birth difficulty leading to periods of oxygen deprivation to the baby’s brain.
People with autism have trouble with communication . They have trouble understanding what other people think and feel.  This makes it hard for them to express things, either with words or through gestures, facial expressions and touch.
People with autism may have problems with learning.  Their skills might develop unevenly.  They could have trouble communicating but be unusually good at art, music, mathematics or things that involve memory. Because of this, they might do especially well on tests of analysis or problem solving.
More children are diagnosed with autism now than ever. But the latest numbers could be higher because of changes in how its diagnosed, not because more children have the disorder.
According to Key Autism Statistics, as of 2023, in the US, around 1 in 36 children has been diagnosed with autism.  Around 75 million people have autism spectrum disorder, that is 1 percent of the world’s population. 1 in 100 children are diagnosed with autism as of 2021. Autism prevalence has increased 178 percent since 2020. The country with the highest rate of diagnosed autism in the world is Qatar and the country with the lowest rate is France . Also, around 4 times as many boys have autism as girls.

By: Ibinabo Ogolo