Over the last several years, there has been a raging debate over some of the possible causes of autism. I have a certain opinion on some of those contraversies, which I have expressed here. Nevertheless, given that it is unlikely that "one size fits all" when it comes to what causes autism, one might expect that genetic and environmental factors may be involved. That is not to say that each autistic person has elements of each as a factor, but that each may, in certain cases, be a contributing factor.
Now, there is a study in the works to try to gather data to examine how that may work more closely. Do you have a child on the autistic spectrum, and are you expecting another child? Then this study may be for you. More below the fold:
Before I go into any detail, I want to make certain I reference an earlier diary which included this story. Under the heading of The Autism Diaries, dsnodgrass has made a commitment to provide daily news updates related to autism. It is an effort which any of us interested in the issue, whether from a personal, a scientific, and/or a political standpoint, would do well to support. My diary is simply meant to highlight what I consider to be a particularly compelling new story which dsnodgrass has already mentioned,
OK, onto the new study, as detailed in today's Philadelphia Inquirer:
In a bid to unravel the confounding mysteries of autism, researchers yesterday launched a comprehensive study to track families with an autistic child through another pregnancy, birth, and the following three years.
The study, which will enroll 1200 women in sites in Philadelphia, Baltimore and Northern California, will examine the possible role of hundreds of environmental factors along with genetic characteristics.
Now, those few of you who have paid attention to my diaries on autism are probably aware that I am, at best, highly skeptical of any relationship between childhood vaccines and autism. But this study will examine that issue:
Some parents believe that childhood vaccinations, which also have increased in recent years, could be a trigger. Medical research has found no solid basis for this idea, but vaccines are among the many environmental factors that will be examined in the new study.
This study has the potential to contribute valuable data to the study of autism, because it is a prospective study, rather than a retrospective study.
The study will gather blood and urine samples from the women during pregnancy, and the women be asked to keep detailed diaries about their health and environmental exposures. Fathers and autistic children will also have data gathered on them, and physical samples will be taken from the baby on delivery, and periodically up to age 3.
So are you the mother of, or are you close to the mother of at least one autistic child, who is no more than 20 weeks pregnant, who might be interested in being part of a study which could provide valuable data on autism? Do you live in Southeastern Pennsylvania, Northeast Maryland, or Northern California? The contact information is included below:
Southeast Pennsylvania
Lauren Clay, Coordinator
By Phone
(215) 762-1806
(877) 821-0015
By Email
EARLI@drexel.edu
Northeast Maryland
JaDenna Jones, Coordinator
By Phone
(443) 287-4768
(866) 868-8014
Email
EARLI@jhsph.edu
Northern California – Kaiser Permanente
Monisha Shah, Coordinator
By Phone
(510) 891-3457
(866) 279-0733
Email
Autism.Research@kp.org
Northern California – UC Davis
Nicole Taylor, Coordinator
By Phone
(530) 752-6511
(866) 550-5027
Email
EARLI@phs.ucdavis.edu
Remember, this is an "agnostic study". Whereever you fall on the curve of the so-called "Autism Wars", this study is not choosing sides. Go for it.