Autism is found in approximately 1 in every 166 children, but its cause remains unknown. Some doctors believe that some children may be more predisposed to autism than others due to hereditary factors.
It is unsure if we will ever know the underlying reason as to what causes autism due to the enormous complexity of the human brain. As it stands currently we understand only a very small part of how the brain actually operates.
The brain has in excess of 100 billion nerve cells known as neurons. All neurons are interconnected with other nerve cells, both in the brain and around the body. These connections are initiated through the release of neurotransmitters. This enables the various parts of the brain (areas for sight, motor function, touch, emotion and many more) to function together.
What we do know is that children with autism have some dysfunction or damage with these neuron cells, which prevents the neurotransmitters from functioning properly, causing sensory, emotional and communication problems. When and why this occurs is not known but there is significant research being conducted in this field.
There is some speculation amongst medical researchers suggesting that certain vaccines such as MMR (mumps, measles & rubella) may cause problems in the intestines’ of some patients, which in turn can cause the onset of autism. There is no definite proof to support this.
The brain has in excess of 100 billion nerve cells known as neurons. All neurons are interconnected with other nerve cells, both in the brain and around the body. These connections are initiated through the release of neurotransmitters. This enables the various parts of the brain (areas for sight, motor function, touch, emotion and many more) to function together.
What we do know is that children with autism have some dysfunction or damage with these neuron cells, which prevents the neurotransmitters from functioning properly, causing sensory, emotional and communication problems. When and why this occurs is not known but there is significant research being conducted in this field.
There is some speculation amongst medical researchers suggesting that certain vaccines such as MMR (mumps, measles & rubella) may cause problems in the intestines’ of some patients, which in turn can cause the onset of autism. There is no definite proof to support this.
Other medical researchers believe that the link to vaccines and autism is in the mercury based preservative ‘thimerosal’ that they use but again there’s little hard proof to back this up.