A study carried out by researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine (USA) and published in the journal Traslational Psychiatry , delves into the theory that autism is caused by a variety of interrelated factors , since , thanks to a novel experiment, they have managed to reverse the symptoms of autism in laboratory rodents.
The experiment, carried out with a new drug to which rodents were injected with a single dose , was a success in reversing the symptoms of this neurological disorder. The study’s conclusions suggest that autism is the consequence of abnormal cellular communication . Metabolites (small molecules that participate in metabolism, the set of chemical processes that keep us alive) of cells threatened or damaged by microbes, such as viruses or bacteria, or by physical factors or chemicals, such as pollutants, react to the defensive creating a kind of chemical glow that transmits the state of health to the cell. Thus, communication between cells is dramatically reduced . If it persists, the result can be long-lasting, and if it happens during childhood, neurological development is delayed.
“ Cells behave like countries at war . When a threat begins, its borders are hardened. They don’t trust their neighbors. But without constant communication with the outside, cells begin to function differently. In the case of neurons, it could be that there are many or very few connections. One way of looking at this related to autism is this: When cells stop talking to each other, children stop talking, ”says study leader Robert K. Naviaux.
For the experiment, the researchers tested the effect of suramin , which is used to treat sleeping sickness, for example. They found that this substance blocked the extracellular signaling pathway, ending the typical danger response of autism. Thus, the cells ended up behaving normally and all the symptoms related to autism ended up being diluted for five weeks. The effect was therefore not permanent.
Experts are convinced that this discovery will help to deepen this disorder and that, in the future, we could talk about correcting all the anomalies related to it, within the enormous challenge posed by autism.
