4 ms·

Does anyone have references to studies regarding this? The author has a long history of advocating a link between parasite load and auto-immune disease (c.f. ht

Does anyone have references to studies regarding this? The author has a long history of advocating a link between parasite load and auto-immune disease (c.f. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/29/magazine/29wwln-essay-t.html?_r=1 http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/29/magazine/29wwln-essay-t.ht... from 2008), and since the Wakefield scandal I'm generally skeptical of non-journal articles attempting to link autism and inflammation. The article is advertisement for the author's book, and I can't find any indication that the author has an educational background in biology. Based on his book's Amazon page, he's a journalist.

tokenadult 14y ago
Does anyone have references to studies regarding this? Thank you for asking that essential follow-up question for most submissions on HN. Some of the references that turn up in a Google Scholar search http://scholar.google.com/scholar?as_ylo=2008&q=autism+autoimmune http://scholar.google.com/scholar?as_ylo=2008&q=autism+a... include free full-text download links, so we can follow up on this. The author has a long history of advocating a link between parasite load and auto-immune disease Yes, I also checked out the author as I submitted this article. He has postgraduate training in science writing, has worked for The Christian Science Monitor (a dodgy publication for medical reporting), and has been published in other professionally edited publications for his freelance science reporting. I thought the submitted article had enough caution of statement and names of actual researchers to be worth discussing here. The article is certainly far from the last word on the subject, but may point to a line of research that will be helpful in SOME (but certainly not all) efforts to reduce the incidence of autism in the future and to help children after they develop autism. AFTER EDIT: Some readers here may be interested in looking at the original case report by Leo Kanner that first described autism. http://www.neurodiversity.com/library_kanner_1943.html http://www.neurodiversity.com/library_kanner_1943.html An author who I think provides a helpful intercultural perspective on autism and its diagnosis is Roy Grinker, http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/health/jan-june11/grinkerext_04-19.html http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/health/jan-june11/grinkerext_... who has studied autism in cultural contexts outside the United States.
- tptacek 14y ago
  Why is CSM dodgy for medical reporting?
  - tokenadult 14y ago
    A fair question. It's my understanding that the Christian Science Monitor attempts to be phenomenological and "objective" in all of its reporting, and some readers have long prized that publication for precisely those characteristics. But it's important to note that the Christian Science Monitor is the house publication of the Christian Science religious denomination, and that the denomination has a view of health and disease that is not mainstream and not evidence-based. (I write this as someone who has visited the Mother Church in Boston and has heard about both the denomination and the newspaper at their headquarters offices as an interpreter for officials from China who were studying religious diversity in the United States.) Thus, on this story I was much more inclined to submit a link from the New York Times (different editorial tendencies) than I would be to submit an article by the same author from the Christian Science Monitor. Most journalists benefit from submitting their work to an editor.
    - tptacek 14y ago
      The CSM is not an organ for the Christian Science church. Is there some reason we believe the guy who wrote this post is a Christian Scientist? You called this piece into question in part because of a past affiliation with the CSM. The CSM is a credible journalism venue; it's not fair to attribute fundamentalist Christian Science beliefs on people who happened to have worked there.
      - tokenadult 14y ago
        http://www.csmonitor.com/About/The-Monitor-difference http://www.csmonitor.com/About/The-Monitor-difference
        tptacek 14y ago
paulsutter 14y ago
This article from the Economist is a sort of a round-up of recent work on the medical implications of our gut bacteria, including autism. It has more information that you might use to broaden your search: http://www.economist.com/node/21560523 http://www.economist.com/node/21560523 A long term antibiotics prescription messed up my gut bacteria, leading to problems with drowsiness and yeast infections. Strong priobiotics (100B+ cells daily) reverse these probems, which return within days when I stop the priobiotics. I can't speak for autism, but I can tell you first hand that gut bacteria do play a role in our health.
popsomoa 14y ago
Some very recent studies released on Autism and Immunity: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/07/120717141010.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/07/120717141010.ht... http://media.caltech.edu/press_releases/13534 http://media.caltech.edu/press_releases/13534

tokenadult 14y ago

Does anyone have references to studies regarding this? Thank you for asking that essential follow-up question for most submissions on HN. Some of the references that turn up in a Google Scholar search http://scholar.google.com/scholar?as_ylo=2008&q=autism+autoimmune http://scholar.google.com/scholar?as_ylo=2008&q=autism+a... include free full-text download links, so we can follow up on this. The author has a long history of advocating a link between parasite load and auto-immune disease Yes, I also checked out the author as I submitted this article. He has postgraduate training in science writing, has worked for The Christian Science Monitor (a dodgy publication for medical reporting), and has been published in other professionally edited publications for his freelance science reporting. I thought the submitted article had enough caution of statement and names of actual researchers to be worth discussing here. The article is certainly far from the last word on the subject, but may point to a line of research that will be helpful in SOME (but certainly not all) efforts to reduce the incidence of autism in the future and to help children after they develop autism. AFTER EDIT: Some readers here may be interested in looking at the original case report by Leo Kanner that first described autism. http://www.neurodiversity.com/library_kanner_1943.html http://www.neurodiversity.com/library_kanner_1943.html An author who I think provides a helpful intercultural perspective on autism and its diagnosis is Roy Grinker, http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/health/jan-june11/grinkerext_04-19.html http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/health/jan-june11/grinkerext_... who has studied autism in cultural contexts outside the United States.

tptacek 14y ago
Why is CSM dodgy for medical reporting?
- tokenadult 14y ago
  A fair question. It's my understanding that the Christian Science Monitor attempts to be phenomenological and "objective" in all of its reporting, and some readers have long prized that publication for precisely those characteristics. But it's important to note that the Christian Science Monitor is the house publication of the Christian Science religious denomination, and that the denomination has a view of health and disease that is not mainstream and not evidence-based. (I write this as someone who has visited the Mother Church in Boston and has heard about both the denomination and the newspaper at their headquarters offices as an interpreter for officials from China who were studying religious diversity in the United States.) Thus, on this story I was much more inclined to submit a link from the New York Times (different editorial tendencies) than I would be to submit an article by the same author from the Christian Science Monitor. Most journalists benefit from submitting their work to an editor.
  - tptacek 14y ago
    The CSM is not an organ for the Christian Science church. Is there some reason we believe the guy who wrote this post is a Christian Scientist? You called this piece into question in part because of a past affiliation with the CSM. The CSM is a credible journalism venue; it's not fair to attribute fundamentalist Christian Science beliefs on people who happened to have worked there.
    - tokenadult 14y ago
      http://www.csmonitor.com/About/The-Monitor-difference http://www.csmonitor.com/About/The-Monitor-difference
      - tptacek 14y ago

paulsutter 14y ago

This article from the Economist is a sort of a round-up of recent work on the medical implications of our gut bacteria, including autism. It has more information that you might use to broaden your search: http://www.economist.com/node/21560523 http://www.economist.com/node/21560523 A long term antibiotics prescription messed up my gut bacteria, leading to problems with drowsiness and yeast infections. Strong priobiotics (100B+ cells daily) reverse these probems, which return within days when I stop the priobiotics. I can't speak for autism, but I can tell you first hand that gut bacteria do play a role in our health.

popsomoa 14y ago

Some very recent studies released on Autism and Immunity: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/07/120717141010.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/07/120717141010.ht... http://media.caltech.edu/press_releases/13534 http://media.caltech.edu/press_releases/13534