RE: Re: Brain/Body study

[Guest guest]

I completely agree Doris, I have been following this story as well, and

I hope the literature once it is released sheds more light on MET

gene/receptors. Its hard to find information on this for a layperson..

Re: Brain/Body study

This is one of the most promising things I have read in awhile!

Thanks Doris!

--- In groups (DOT) <mailto:%40> com, Doris and

Steve <sjsmith@...>

wrote:

>

> New Autism Gene Doubles Risk

>

> Finding Suggests Autism Is Disease of Brain and Body By

DeNoon

> WebMD Medical News Reviewed By Louise Chang, MD

> on Monday, October 16, 2006

>

> Oct. 16, 2006 -- A single gene mutation doubles a child's

susceptibility

> to autism, a Vanderbilt-led research team reports.

>

> It's a discovery with far-reaching implications. Why? It isn't

> specifically a brain gene. In fact, it affects multiple systems in

the

> body, including immune function and gut repair. The gene in

question is

> a variant form of a gene called MET.

>

> This suggests that the complex set of behaviors and mental

disabilities

> we call autism may not, as previously thought, be solely a problem

with

> brain development. It may also be linked to subtle developmental

> problems throughout the body.

>

> The study, which included Pat Levitt, PhD, of the Vanderbilt

Kennedy

> Center for Research on Human Development, appears in the early

online

> edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

>

> " We hypothesize that the common, functionally disruptive [MET gene

> variant] can, together with other vulnerability genes and

[genetic] and

> environmental factors, precipitate the onset of autism, " Levitt

and

> colleagues suggest.

>

> New Autism Gene Important

>

> Kids with autism usually seem normal at first. Then they seem to

> backslide, losing abilities they once had and suddenly withdrawing

into

> their own world.

>

> There are many theories about why this happens. Clearly, something

goes

> wrong with normal development.

>

> The MET gene, Levitt and colleagues note, encodes an important

enzyme

> called the MET receptor. Among other things, the MET receptor

sends out

> signals important for brain growth, brain maturation, immune

function,

> and gut repair.

>

> Many parents of children with autism report that their kids have

> digestive problems and haywire immune responses. It's never been

clear

> whether this is directly or indirectly linked to their autism.

>

> Linking the MET gene to autism opens the door to exciting new

research,

> notes W. State, MD, PhD, director of the neurogenetics

program

> at Yale University. State's editorial accompanies the Levitt

team's report.

>

> " The possibility that a MET variant might lead to immune

dysfunction and

> gastrointestinal disturbance along with autism-spectrum disorders

is an

> important question to pursue and one that will likely lead to some

> debate, " State writes.

>

> That's because the first theory to link autism, gut problems, and

immune

> dysfunction blamed these symptoms on childhood immunization with

the

> measlesmeasles/

> mumpsmumps/rubella (MMR) vaccine.

>

> That theory -- now rejected by all but one of the researchers who

first

> proposed it -- holds that kids who develop autism are particularly

> sensitive to the toxic effects of thimerosol, a form of mercury

used as

> a vaccine preservative.

>

> The thimerosol theory was rejected by an Institute of Medicine

panel of

> experts. Now the MET gene may reopen investigation into the link

between

> autism and other developmental problems.

>

> " The very important question of whether and how gut disturbance,

> regression, and immunological issues may be related has been, in

part,

> obscured by this [thimerosol] controversy, " State

writes. " Hopefully,

> the present study will lead to additional rigorous investigations

of

> these questions without fueling unnecessary concern regarding MMR. "

>

>

>