Autism: The Most Important And Critical Phases In Human Development

Human development is an amazing process full of wonders and miracles. The human brain plays an important function in our body and its development is one of the most important and critical phases in human development. Autism is a disorder that has affected a lot of families in the U.S., not only within the educational sphere but also in people’s social lives. Some of these individuals can be geniuses in certain subjects while others in most cases, can have trouble with social, verbal and nonverbal communication and have repetitive behavior. One may ask the question about the brain of an autistic child: how is it different from a normal brain? Based on the study from the University of Colombia, children with autism were found to have more connection
between brain cells. As the normal brain develops, connections between the brain cells are lost as human body develops. The study is focused on rapamycin medication use which helped with restoration of normal synaptic pruning and reduced autism-like behaviors in a mouse model of autism. It’s hoped that such medication can be applied to children with autism and adults in near future.
There are many studies being done on rapamycin in relation to autism one of them specifically, tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) and it is supported by Autism Speak. As stated in the article by Paul Wang, “There are many unknowns in translating research from mice to humans,” comments Paul Wang, Autism Speaks senior vice president and head of medical research. “But the data from mice suggest that such medicines could have a positive effect on behavior and cognition in patients with TSC. The findings of this newest study might also be relevant to a subset of other patients with autism.” the question remains as to why there is a pruning defect? Based on the data collected by Dr. Tang from brain samples of children with autism and the ones without researchers traced the defect of pruning to a protein called mTOR. They found when this protein is overactive, brain cells lose their self-pruning ability which is part of their natural process as seen in non-autistic individuals. Once rapamycin medication was administered mice which slowdowns mTOR autism like behavior was eliminated even in the older mice. In conclusion, the results in mice trial seem promising and researchers hope to make it available to people with autism children and adults alike.