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- Researchers report that a drug used to treat epileptic seizures shows promise as a potential ‘cure’ for autism.
- They report that the drug, lamotrigine, reduced autism-like behaviors in mice genetically engineered with human neurons.
- Other experts, however, say the search for a “cure” for autism is misguided and that a better approach is to change behavior and society.
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“The development of the human brain is a very complex process,” said Bettina Weigelco-author of the study and a doctoral student at the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg, in a article accompanying the study. “This complexity makes it susceptible to disturbances, which can cause neurodevelopmental abnormalities.”
For the study, the researchers used mice genetically modified with human neurons to better understand the interplay between these genes and neurodevelopmental disorders in humans.
Scientists have looked at a “the transcription factor,which is a protein that determines which genes are active and inactive in a particular cell.
They reported that one transcription factor in particular,
When this factor was inhibited, the mice in the study exhibited functional changes and actions typical of autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders, including hyperactivity and anxiety-like behavior.
“Loss of this backup function…appeared to lead to the development of neurons with ‘confusing’ transcriptional identity…While similar observations have previously been described for other MYT1L mouse models, our study is the first to confirm these findings in human neurons,” Weigel wrote.
Some mice were then treated with a drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat seizures and bipolar disorder called lamotriginewhich seems to calm some of these behaviors.
The researchers said the findings could potentially pave the way for future therapy in humans – although the use of the drugs as a treatment for autism or other neurological conditions is still a long way off.
Overall, the results represent a step forward in understanding the human brain and how certain genetic functions affect neurological development.
“The discovery of MYT1L as a permanent safeguard of neural identity and its crucial role in normal brain function raises exciting new questions,” Weigel wrote.
We lose MYT1L as we age, she noted, and the reduction of this genetic component has also been suggested to be linked to Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative diseases.
While the science of this study is crucial to developing a deeper understanding of neurodevelopment, what it doesn’t do is promise a “cure” for autism — a framing that many find flawed in the first place.
“Autism Spectrum Disorder is classified as a disability because of the difficulties that many people – not all – have with communication, interpersonal relationships and learning,” said Uma Kleppingercommunications director of IRL social skillsa coaching service and social skills curriculum for neurodivergent teens.
“A lot of medical resources are aimed at finding a ‘cure’ for these differences. But the ‘disease, not difference’ model is an ableist worldview and practice,” she told Healthline.
Daniel MarstonPhD, ABPP, psychologist and specialist in cognitive-behavioral therapy, agrees.
“This study is limited in that it is just one step in a very, very long process of not only trying to understand the neurology of autism, but also of actually using everything that the research shows,” Marston told Healthline. “Autism represents a complicated, multi-faceted neurological condition where the person deals with the social world differently from others. Like many other things in life, there are a wide variety of ways in which these differences manifest themselves and sometimes these differences Each case must be considered individually and it is wrong to simply decide that the brain of everyone with autism needs to be changed.
“Researchers are still trying to understand the causes and origins of many forms of autism,” explained Genevieve KonopkaPhD, neuroscientist who studies autism at the Peter O’Donnell Jr. Brain Institute at UT Southwestern in Dallas, Texas.
“Certainly, there are people diagnosed with autism for whom treatments could be beneficial to improve activities of daily living like sleep and communication,” she told Healthline. “There are other people with autism who may prefer not to receive any form of treatment, whether in the form of medication or behavioral therapies.”
Given this, while the science of understanding is essential, it might be more useful to consider how society can best shape itself to accommodate people with neurodivergence, said Mara McLoughlinfounder of IRL Social Skills, autistic herself.
“The overwhelming majority of autism research funding is spent on finding a cure and answering the question, ‘Why do you exist?'” McLoughlin told Healthline.
“A better question would be, ‘How can we better support people with autism and their families?'” she said.
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