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A model for the induction of autism in the ecosystem of the human body: the anatomy of a modern pandemic?

Publication ,  Journal Article
Bilbo, SD; Nevison, CD; Parker, W
Published in: Microb Ecol Health Dis
2015

BACKGROUND: The field of autism research is currently divided based on a fundamental question regarding the nature of autism: Some are convinced that autism is a pandemic of modern culture, with environmental factors at the roots. Others are convinced that the disease is not pandemic in nature, but rather that it has been with humanity for millennia, with its biological and neurological underpinnings just now being understood. OBJECTIVE: In this review, two lines of reasoning are examined which suggest that autism is indeed a pandemic of modern culture. First, given the widely appreciated derailment of immune function by modern culture, evidence that autism is strongly associated with aberrant immune function is examined. Second, evidence is reviewed indicating that autism is associated with 'triggers' that are, for the most part, a construct of modern culture. In light of this reasoning, current epidemiological evidence regarding the incidence of autism, including the role of changing awareness and diagnostic criteria, is examined. Finally, the potential role of the microbial flora (the microbiome) in the pathogenesis of autism is discussed, with the view that the microbial flora is a subset of the life associated with the human body, and that the entire human biome, including both the microbial flora and the fauna, has been radically destabilized by modern culture. CONCLUSIONS: It is suggested that the unequivocal way to resolve the debate regarding the pandemic nature of autism is to perform an experiment: monitor the prevalence of autism after normalizing immune function in a Western population using readily available approaches that address the well-known factors underlying the immune dysfunction in that population.

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Published In

Microb Ecol Health Dis

DOI

ISSN

0891-060X

Publication Date

2015

Volume

26

Start / End Page

26253

Location

Sweden

Related Subject Headings

  • Microbiology
  • 3207 Medical microbiology
  • 3107 Microbiology
 

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Bilbo, S. D., Nevison, C. D., & Parker, W. (2015). A model for the induction of autism in the ecosystem of the human body: the anatomy of a modern pandemic? Microb Ecol Health Dis, 26, 26253. https://doi.org/10.3402/mehd.v26.26253
Bilbo, Staci D., Cynthia D. Nevison, and William Parker. “A model for the induction of autism in the ecosystem of the human body: the anatomy of a modern pandemic?Microb Ecol Health Dis 26 (2015): 26253. https://doi.org/10.3402/mehd.v26.26253.
Bilbo SD, Nevison CD, Parker W. A model for the induction of autism in the ecosystem of the human body: the anatomy of a modern pandemic? Microb Ecol Health Dis. 2015;26:26253.
Bilbo, Staci D., et al. “A model for the induction of autism in the ecosystem of the human body: the anatomy of a modern pandemic?Microb Ecol Health Dis, vol. 26, 2015, p. 26253. Pubmed, doi:10.3402/mehd.v26.26253.
Bilbo SD, Nevison CD, Parker W. A model for the induction of autism in the ecosystem of the human body: the anatomy of a modern pandemic? Microb Ecol Health Dis. 2015;26:26253.
Journal cover image

Published In

Microb Ecol Health Dis

DOI

ISSN

0891-060X

Publication Date

2015

Volume

26

Start / End Page

26253

Location

Sweden

Related Subject Headings

  • Microbiology
  • 3207 Medical microbiology
  • 3107 Microbiology