** Autism Tied to Flawed Cell Armor **

[Guest guest]

Ped Med: Autism tied to flawed cell armor

By LIDIA WASOWICZ

UPI Senior Science Writer

http://www.upi.com/ConsumerHealthDaily/view.php?StoryID=20070202-043047-2685r

<http://www.upi.com/ConsumerHealthDaily/view.php?StoryID=20070202-043047-2685r>

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 7 (UPI) -- While some researchers are looking

inside the nerve-cell package in the brain for clues to autism,

others think it's all in the wrapping.

A novel model of human brain development and degeneration proposed

by scientists at the University of California, Los Angeles,

implicates chinks in the fatty armor that coats the brain's internal

wiring in such childhood developmental disorders as autism and

attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder.

>From a review of scanned and autopsied brain tissue, the

investigators said they unraveled the role of the insulation, called

myelin, in these conditions.

Laden with more cholesterol than any other brain component, the

sheet of fat encases the spindly nerve-cell extensions called axons,

permitting them to carry messages to their neighbors in the safety

and security of their shield.

The thicker and heavier the cells' coat, the faster and more

effective their communication, said team leader Dr.

Bartzokis, professor of neurology at the Geffen School of

Medicine and director of the UCLA Memory Disorders and Alzheimer's

Disease Clinic and the Clinical Core of the UCLA Alzheimer's Disease

Research Center.

The pioneering neuroscientist said he discovered that myelin

production continues unabated throughout the first four decades of

life before peaking and plummeting at age 45.

His latest research portrays the protective shield as the neural

system's Achilles' heel, vulnerable to a host of environmental

assaults.

" Myelination, a process uniquely elaborated in humans, arguably is

the most important and most vulnerable process of brain development

as we mature and age, " Bartzokis said in an interview. " The effect

of all toxins should be examined in this context. At present, this

is rarely done. "

Without adequate insulation, cells won't connect properly, he said.

He came to that conclusion after conducting a series of experiments

that showed a breakdown in the sheath can expose the naked wiring

beneath and open the gates to an array of neurological and

behavioral problems.

Bartzokis's hypothesis holds that humans " myelinate " different

circuits at various points in life, which could explain the sizeable

differences between brain diseases of the young and old.

An early disruption of the process, for instance, may throw for a

loop the development of the basic circuits that govern language and

social communication, two key impairments in autism, Bartzokis said.

A glitch during the early school years could hamper the ability to

process information efficiently and effectively, leading to deficits

in attention that characterize ADHD, he said.

Later in life, the result of a malfunction could be Alzheimer's

disease, Bartzokis conjectured.

To Bartzokis, the human brain is akin to the high-speed Internet.

" The speed, quality and bandwidth of the connections determine the

brain's ability to process information, and all these depend in

large part on the insulation that coats the brain's connecting

wires, " he said.

The findings may explain why developmental disorders leave no

calling card in the brain, scientists said.

" There's no dead anything on autopsy, " Bartzokis said. " Those brain

connections just never developed normally. "

The good news about myelination comes in feminine packages:

Bartzokis's studies show female brains make better myelin, which

could explain why boys are at much greater risk for autism, ADHD and

other similarly routed problems.

On a similar front, U.S. and French investigators conducting mouse

experiments found the males had 20 percent to 40 percent more of the

cells that form myelin in the brain and spinal cord than did the

females.

The females produced up to twice as many of the cells, but twice as

many of them died, making for a much higher turnover rate in this

group, the investigators reported in the Journal of Neuroscience.

The discovery of the unexpectedly large gender gap may help clear up

some of the mystery of how male-female differences are generated in

the brain, which in turn may provide critical clues into why

disorders such as autism, ADHD, depression and multiple sclerosis

are so uneven-handed in their distribution between the sexes, the

authors said.

[Guest guest]

I find this very interesting when they are talking about brain

degeneration. Because, I have recently been studying alot about

human degeneration. Several doctors had predicted in the early

years that we would see this kind of degeneration in America and

that it would increase...ie degerative arthiritis, brain

dysfunction, MS etc, and an increasing inability of generations of

children being able to care for themselves. They were able to

predict it because they were able to create the phenomenen in cats

and other ways. A doctor named Pottenger did a study called

Pottengers Cats in which he raised about 900 cats by seperate family

groups that were fed a certain way and could pin point where these

degenerative problems began by the amount of highly processed,

chemical laden, highly pastuerized (non food) foods the cats were

fed. They also saw an increase in infertility. Interesting stuff.

--- In , Doris and Steve <sjsmith@...>

wrote:

>

> Ped Med: Autism tied to flawed cell armor

>

> By LIDIA WASOWICZ

> UPI Senior Science Writer

> http://www.upi.com/ConsumerHealthDaily/view.php?StoryID=20070202-

043047-2685r

> <http://www.upi.com/ConsumerHealthDaily/view.php?StoryID=20070202-

043047-2685r>

>

> SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 7 (UPI) -- While some researchers are looking

> inside the nerve-cell package in the brain for clues to autism,

> others think it's all in the wrapping.

>

> A novel model of human brain development and degeneration proposed

> by scientists at the University of California, Los Angeles,

> implicates chinks in the fatty armor that coats the brain's

internal

> wiring in such childhood developmental disorders as autism and

> attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder.

>

> >From a review of scanned and autopsied brain tissue, the

> investigators said they unraveled the role of the insulation,

called

> myelin, in these conditions.

>

> Laden with more cholesterol than any other brain component, the

> sheet of fat encases the spindly nerve-cell extensions called

axons,

> permitting them to carry messages to their neighbors in the safety

> and security of their shield.

>

> The thicker and heavier the cells' coat, the faster and more

> effective their communication, said team leader Dr.

> Bartzokis, professor of neurology at the Geffen School of

> Medicine and director of the UCLA Memory Disorders and Alzheimer's

> Disease Clinic and the Clinical Core of the UCLA Alzheimer's

Disease

> Research Center.

>

> The pioneering neuroscientist said he discovered that myelin

> production continues unabated throughout the first four decades of

> life before peaking and plummeting at age 45.

>

> His latest research portrays the protective shield as the neural

> system's Achilles' heel, vulnerable to a host of environmental

> assaults.

>

> " Myelination, a process uniquely elaborated in humans, arguably is

> the most important and most vulnerable process of brain development

> as we mature and age, " Bartzokis said in an interview. " The effect

> of all toxins should be examined in this context. At present, this

> is rarely done. "

>

> Without adequate insulation, cells won't connect properly, he said.

> He came to that conclusion after conducting a series of experiments

> that showed a breakdown in the sheath can expose the naked wiring

> beneath and open the gates to an array of neurological and

> behavioral problems.

>

> Bartzokis's hypothesis holds that humans " myelinate " different

> circuits at various points in life, which could explain the

sizeable

> differences between brain diseases of the young and old.

>

> An early disruption of the process, for instance, may throw for a

> loop the development of the basic circuits that govern language and

> social communication, two key impairments in autism, Bartzokis

said.

>

> A glitch during the early school years could hamper the ability to

> process information efficiently and effectively, leading to

deficits

> in attention that characterize ADHD, he said.

>

> Later in life, the result of a malfunction could be Alzheimer's

> disease, Bartzokis conjectured.

>

> To Bartzokis, the human brain is akin to the high-speed Internet.

>

> " The speed, quality and bandwidth of the connections determine the

> brain's ability to process information, and all these depend in

> large part on the insulation that coats the brain's connecting

> wires, " he said.

>

> The findings may explain why developmental disorders leave no

> calling card in the brain, scientists said.

>

> " There's no dead anything on autopsy, " Bartzokis said. " Those brain

> connections just never developed normally. "

>

> The good news about myelination comes in feminine packages:

> Bartzokis's studies show female brains make better myelin, which

> could explain why boys are at much greater risk for autism, ADHD

and

> other similarly routed problems.

>

> On a similar front, U.S. and French investigators conducting mouse

> experiments found the males had 20 percent to 40 percent more of

the

> cells that form myelin in the brain and spinal cord than did the

> females.

>

> The females produced up to twice as many of the cells, but twice as

> many of them died, making for a much higher turnover rate in this

> group, the investigators reported in the Journal of Neuroscience.

>

> The discovery of the unexpectedly large gender gap may help clear

up

> some of the mystery of how male-female differences are generated in

> the brain, which in turn may provide critical clues into why

> disorders such as autism, ADHD, depression and multiple sclerosis

> are so uneven-handed in their distribution between the sexes, the

> authors said.

>

>

>