Also consider this: Researcher sees link between vitamin D, autism
Experts call the hypothesis - that deficiency in pregnant women and young children is a factor - speculative
by MARTIN MITTELSTAEDT
The growing prevalence of autism is one of the biggest scientific whodunits in the medical world, with few clues for its rising incidence.
But a U.S. researcher is advancing a controversial hypothesis: that autism is related to vitamin D deficiency during fetal development and early childhood.
Dr. John Cannell, a psychiatrist and prominent vitamin D advocate, says flagging levels of the vitamin in pregnant women and young children could be the elusive factor explaining the rising rate of autism.
The idea that vitamin D deficiency may have a link to autism isn't as farfetched as it once might have seemed because
the deficiency is also emerging as a possible cause of many diverse illnesses, ranging from multiple sclerosis to cancer.
One discredited theory is that the mercury-containing preservative thimerosal once used in childhood vaccines causes autism. Studies have failed to find any link.
Dr. Cannell says some of the strongest evidence vitamin D may have a hand in the disorder is that the vitamin is converted in the body to a steroid hormone, which in animal experimentation has been found to influence brain development.
Startling trend:
The occurrence of autism spectrum disorders (the most sever of which is autism) has risen sharply during recent years.
Rate per 10,000
UNITED STATES
1980s: 4-5
1990s: 30-60 ....... More from Autismtoday.com
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