研究者认为自闭症孩子不能产生关键的脂肪酸代谢，而这些关键的脂肪酸是保护头脑和器官抵御炎症侵嗜所必须的。因此，潜在的治疗方法是为每个孩子量体配置一杯适合他的“鸡尾酒”。即为他们提供一系列他们身体自己不能产生和代谢的好的脂肪酸。
Jersey scientists find a possible key to autism
Sunday, February 18, 2007
BY PEGGY O'CROWLEY
Star-Ledger Staff
A team of New Jersey scientists believes it has found ways to detect biological risk factors for autism through simple urine and blood tests, a discovery that could lead to groundbreaking medical treatment for the neurological disorder.
The team of 16 scientists, mostly drawn from the campuses of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, say their findings, the result of more than two years of study on how the body breaks down fatty acids, could be a breakthrough for what is the fastest-growing developmental disorder in the nation, with no known cause or cure.
The UMDNJ researchers say they have found that children with autism are unable to metabolize key fatty acids that help the body fight inflammation that causes damage to the brain and other organs.
"It's an exciting story that's unfolding," said George Lambert, coordinator of the 15-member research team.
The potential treatment, members of the team say, is a kind of "therapeutic cocktail" tailored to each child, which would give them a dose of a "good" fatty acid that they are not able to make on their own. Team member Bernd Spur of UMDNJ-Stratford created the chemical process to replicate one of those good fatty acids.
"The pathway doesn't work (in the body), so we circumvent it," said Spur, a chemist.
Currently, the only way to diagnose autism is by a clinical assessment of symptoms, which include difficulty with communication and social interaction, as well as obsessive behaviors and interests. New Jersey has a high incidence of the disorder, affecting 1 in 94 children in the state, compared with 1 in 150 in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Researchers say that in the future a person's risk for autism could be measured with a simple urine test that would look for high levels of "bad" fat molecules, or a blood test that could reveal genetic problems, including the absence of a key gene, called GSTM1, which is responsible for metabolizing good fats. Many people with autism do not have this gene.
Xue Ming, a neuroscientist and a founding director of the Autism Center at UMDNJ-Newark, discovered that children with autism have higher levels of bad fat molecules in their urine than typical children.
No one understands yet why it is that so many children with autism have such metabolic differences, but Ming suggested it might be caused by an interaction between genes and the environment. It may be that having less of these key fats reduces the body's ability to deal with environmental and metabolic stress.
Since the 1990s, scientists have known about the potential for good fatty acids to treat inflammatory diseases such as Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, even asthma and Alzheimer's. That potential has spurred a frenzy of research into lipids, the fatty compounds that include fatty acids. Studies at the University of Pennsylvania and Vanderbilt University have confirmed the New Jersey group's findings, said Spur.
At Harvard University, researchers are working on treatments for asthma and periodontal disease, while researchers at Louisiana State University are focusing on stroke.
Team members have been meeting every week for more than two years to discuss the results of their experiments. They include Lambert, a pediatric toxicologist who looks at the impact of the environment on children; Spur, the chemist who replicated the fatty acid in the lab; neurologist William Johnson, who associated the missing gene with autism; and Ming, a neuroscientist who tested for the presence of bad lipids in children.
So far, the scientists have obtained six patents for their research, Lambert said. They soon will meet with the Food and Drug Administration to discuss the requirements for producing and testing their substances, he added.
"Metabolic issues in autism are entirely understudied," said Sophia Colamarino, science director for Cure Autism Now, a major advocacy and research group in Los Angeles. "It's a very exciting area. There is accumulating evidence that would clearly tell me this is where I should look."
The New Jersey scientists are cautious, however, about their preliminary results, and warn families not to expect a miracle cure. Testing on humans, they say, could take a few years.
Meanwhile, the researchers are preparing a preliminary study to begin in September. Lambert hopes to work with 5- to 7-year-olds at the Douglass Developmental Disabilities Center in New Brunswick, a school for children with autism run by Rutgers.
Lambert will be giving the children doses of a good fatty acids to see if they have any noticeable effect on the children's cognitive, social and behavioral states. The study will use a control group of similar students.
"New Jersey is the perfect place to do this," said Lambert, director of the EPA-funded Center for Neurotoxicology. "We have a high incidence (of autism), a long history of activism and a strong community."
Peggy O'Crowley may be reached at pocrowley@starledger.com or (973) 392-5810. 作者: 鱼儿 时间: 2007-8-21 00:29 标题: re:这篇报道中薛敏教授的研究与我们看到的其他... 这篇报道中薛敏教授的研究与我们看到的其他给星儿补充的微量元素很吻合，α-亚麻酸、卵磷脂、锌、硒、维生素A、维生素B族、维生素C、维生素E，左旋-谷氨胺，脫氧左旋-谷胱甘都有抑制清除自由基，减轻细胞的被氧化程度，改造细胞代谢的功能。
我怀孕时血糖较高，也是代谢有些问题的信号，另外以前听我父亲讲家族中有血管硬化的疑似遗传史，现在看，也是代谢异常，人体内产生过多的脂质过氧化物，而自由基和细胞膜的不饱和脂肪酸反应，使细胞膜中不饱和脂肪酸减少，脂质过氧化物相对过多，从而降低细胞膜的柔软性，导致血管硬化．
糖类、脂类的代谢异常？这也许是我一直觉得与关节炎、帕金森、糖尿病有些关联的原因所在？ 作者: heping_zhu 时间: 2007-8-27 22:29 标题: re:七月底带女儿去北京洛奇实验室做了过敏源检... 七月底带女儿去北京洛奇实验室做了过敏源检查。报告显示孩子的谷胱甘肽过氧化物酶活性低，说明孩子机体抗氧化力稍差；总IgE偏高，过敏源屋尘螨检出较低浓度的特异性抗体，说明接触过相应过敏源；过敏源链格孢检出极低浓度的特异性抗体，说明接触过相应过敏源，可能存在着一定过敏倾向。总体说来，医生说问题不大，建议多服用维生素E，C，B，并对环境中相应过敏源进行排出，如房间卫生等。作者: yuanyi 时间: 2007-9-16 22:41 标题: re:thank you very much thank you very much