More environmental toxins suspected to be a risk factor for autism

By Carol Roach, 7th Dec 2015 | Follow this author | RSS Feed
Posted in Wikinut>Health>Mind & Spirit>Mental Health

Scientists are rigorously researching the causes of autism and it is yet to be determined. Environmental toxins may have a connection with autism.

Neurological disorder
Autistic like symptoms in mice
Chemicals and pregnancy

Neurological disorder

autism

Autism is a neurological disorder.. Families as well as doctors are baffled by what causes this neurological disorder. Recent studies show that autism rates are on the rise in Montreal and elsewhere in Canada and the USA. The quest to find the cause of autism and treat children and adults who have the disease is one of the major research projects going on in the world of science/psychology today.

Autistic like symptoms in mice

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However, a new study shows that some of the chemicals found in a flame retardant have produced autism-like symptoms in mice. When they were exposed to the chemical, the mice gave birth to smaller offspring who were not as sociable as other mice and had long term memory and other learning deficits. This is the first study of this kind.

"This study highlights the interaction between epigenetics and the effects of early exposure to flame retardants," said Janine LaSalle, the study's senior author and a researcher affiliated with the UC Davis MIND Institute. "Our experiments with wild-type and mutant mice indicate that exposure to flame retardants presents an independent risk of neurodevelopmental deficits associated with reduced sociability and learning."

Chemicals and pregnancy

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This study is important for humans as well. Montreal pregnant women should be careful of what toxins they are exposing themselves to because new research is showing more and more environmental toxins as risks factors for fetal abnormalities.

Warning: Think of the chemicals you use when cleaning your house, inhale the fumes from litter boxes, or fumigate for vermin. Where ever possible, stay away from any kind of chemicals when pregnant.

All photos taken from the public domain

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Meet the author

Carol Roach
Retired therapist and author of two books, freelance writer, newsletter editor, and blogger. I write, health, mental health, women's issues, animal , celebrity, history, and SEO articles.