Lancet study: Five psychiatric disorders 'linked'

[inappropriatelyemployed]

Reported by BBC in case it is of interest - it is here

Very interesting article, thank you. I always feel my boy's autism is genetic and to do with wiring problems in the brain. I also feel his type of "hyperactive autism" is very similar to parts of ADHD.. The idea that isolating the genes might one day lead to effective drug treatments for autism, just as there are for depression, schizophrenia and ADHD is very exciting to me

Back in the 1980's they identified 16 totally different forms of schizophrenia, each with different casual factors, symptoms and treatments. (They look different too in MRI scans btw) It's an umbrella term for a wide variety of different disorders. The causal factors range from serious trauma, to sperm mutation in old Dads, to family genetics and environment depending on the specific type.

I'm waiting for them to admit "Autism" is also just an umbrella term, I personally think for at least 20 differing neurological conditions with a wide range of causal factors and potential treatments. (For some milder forms I think there may one day even be a cure). My gut feeling also is that some forms of autism are to do with biochemistry, while others are to do with the physical structure of the brain.

I've done far less reading up on Autism and would be happy to be proven wrong but I'll accept that perhaps a subset of ASD's and a subset of schizophrenia's may be genetically linked.

I'm also not completely convinced that some of the milder manifestations of what we now consider to be neurological disorders are not simply evolutionary variants in brain wiring that means some individuals do not "fit" our current environment. (Think of it like a Redhead going to live in the sahara without the benefit of sunscreen or a hat. Or even what happens to the original "rednecks" - the English and Irish white slaves who dropped like flies on Southern plantations. It was found that the "negro" slave was better able to survive the contemporary conditions.).

I also believe that we still need these neurological variants in the gene pool as the planet & societal environments have abrubtly changed before and could do again in the future. (just as having one sickle cell gene has helped mankind as a whole survive in malarial invested parts of the world, but having 2 has been a disaster for the individual).

I've never done enough research into the other conditions mentioned to even have an opinion but think that the scientists are missing something seriously important if they honestly think that ALL forms of schizophrenia and ALL forms of autism even ALL have a genetic basis is a generalisation so ludicrous it cracks me up. It's also potentially very dangerous as it could impact on societal attitudes, and Lord knows we already face enough unfair predjudice in some quarters.

Bochead I'm also not completely convinced that some of the milder manifestations of what we now consider to be neurological disorders are not simply evolutionary variants in brain wiring that means some individuals do not "fit" our current environment.

I totally agree with this (WRT my DS and I dont think it's a 'burying my head in the sand' response to his dx).

I remember reading some research on group-living monkeys; where the 'asperger' type monkeys were removed from a group that had lived happily in an area for years.
Within 12 months (IIRC) the rest of the group had died.
Bearing in mind causation vs association, it's an interesting study. Must see if I can find it again...

It's interesting, although I dispute that there are effective drug treatments for ADHD going on my brother's experience (although if someone wants to suggest a possible treatment for a 26 yr old with diagnosed ADD, no impulse control, massive mood swings and quite severe learning difficulties, I will take anything!). I remember that there was a link between ADD and Parkinsons too according to one study, along the lines of dopamine deficiencies/inappropriate functioning of the dopamine receptors.

I'm more of the Bochead view - lots of the traits that make DD 'different' are instantly recognisable in me and DH, and are just as easily associated with children with a strong bent towards reading obsessively and music as children on the autistic spectrum. If DD could talk at an age appropriate level, nobody would be bothered by her disinclination to thrust herself into the social whirl at nursery, or her wilfulness.

porridgelover - it's nice not to feel alone in that view.

My sibling and a couple of distant (2nd and 3rd) cousins have neurological disabilities that can only be considered a disaster in any environment. My son however I could see positively thriving in certain places and time periods and often feel that he was just very unlucky to have been born in modern London and not a remote part of the Carpathian Mountains in the 12th century iykwim.

The advent of mechanisation and the Industrial revolution seems to have brought with it an increasing desire to standardise all human behaviors, yet we are not machines. I read that study too, but haven't been able to find the link again (grrr).

Bochead, I didnt bookmark it originally but am glad someone else remembers it too...it wasn't all in my imagination then!

Similar to you, I can see the benefit of my son's peculiar skill set to a small tribe living in the environs of a cave hunting and gathering for survival. His prodigious memory, powers of observation and fascination with facts about the world would be very useful in tracking the boars that passed through every so often or avoiding the wolf pack in the next valley over.
Not so well suited to sit still in class, and manage the complicated social structure of the school yard or Scouts.