Autism and the new Celiac Disease Link
Kids of moms who have an autoimmune disease such as type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and celiac disease have up to a three times greater risk for autism, according to a new study.
The first two have been linked in earlier research. But the surprise might be the last disorder, which is more commonly recognized as an intolerance to gluten. (Not “intolerance” as in: “I don’t want you in my club,” but as in “My body gets crampy and nasty and sick when I eat you.”)
Coincidentally, perhaps, there has been a four-fold increase in the incidence of celiac disease over the past 50 years.
Researcher William W. Eaton, chairman of the Department of Mental Health at the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University, said of the study,
This finding reinforces the suggestion that autoimmune processes are connected somehow with the cause of autism and autism spectrum disorder. This finding is on the pathway of finding the cause of autism.
There may be an overlap in the genetics of some of the autoimmune diseases and autism that would not be trivial. Autism is strongly inherited, but we don’t have the faintest idea where. But this may point a flashlight to areas of the genome that connect to autism.
He pointed out that these sensitivities might be factored in with environmental triggers.
