2019-Oct-23, Wednesday

mellowtigger: (brain)
I thought for years that I was probably developing multiple sclerosis because of increasingly troubling nerve problems.  A neurologist finally asked me to try eating gluten-free, and amazingly that change of diet made the major problems disappear.

Myelin is a fatty substance that surrounds neurons to improve their electrical signaling. When the myelin is damaged, then the neurons can still signal but just not as quickly or reliably.  Myelin is made not by the neurons themselves but by other brain cells called oligodendrocytes.

As I mentioned in my first link above, myelin issues are common on the autism spectrum. In the article below, researchers started from a very specific autism subset called Pitt-Hopkins syndrome.  They broadened their study, though, and examined 3 different autism mouse models. (Meaning, mice bred to exhibit autistic traits due to specific genes they carry.) Those 3 kinds of mice had mutations in PTEN, MECP2, and TCF4.

"All three mouse models show alterations in the expression of a shared set of 34 genes, most of which are involved in myelination.  The same genes show atypical expression in two independent gene-expression datasets from autistic people, the researchers found.  Maher says his team is investigating why the TCF4 mutant mice have too few oligodendrocytes. They are also testing whether drugs that enhance myelination reverse the mice’s problems."
- https://www.spectrumnews.org/news/loss-of-insulation-on-neurons-may-contribute-to-autism/

I've already checked these 3 genes on my 23AndMe.com results from ages ago, but I don't know how to evaluate my autism risk.  This study remains unpublished at the moment, so I can't find any specifics of SNP values that are associated with autism risk.  Their findings were merely presented at the 2019 Society for Neuroscience annual meeting.

That's not helpful.  I want objective details.

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