May I?

A small rant about autism

Regular readers (thank you by the way) expect my substacks to be focussed on science. Today, if I may, I would like to get something off my chest, as we say. I am becoming increasingly frustrated by the lack of hard, sound science addressing the cause of autism. Notice my emphasis on cause. Autism is a preventable disease and its cause is hidden in modern life. At least its burgeoning incidence is the result of modern life. We need to cut straight to the chase here. When I use the word autism I am not talking about difference I am referring to brain damage almost certainly as the result of environmental exposure. The latter may originate at conception, in utero or in early life. Conceivably all three are possibilities. Myriad real life examples suggest that a child is not born with autism but is brain damaged at some point in infancy. Yes, genetics have a role but, as with Alzheimer’s disease, there is no autism in the absence of environmental exposure to the toxicant or toxicants that cause the brain damage.

So, where is the research looking to identify the cause of this preventable disease? Did I miss something? Where is the research to identify candidate neurotoxins prevalent in the early part of an infant’s life? The identification of such candidate neurotoxins is not rocket science. The life of an infant is relatively simple in terms of their exposome. I have made the case for aluminium.

Indeed, I have taken this a further step by demonstrating unequivocally that aluminium is present in significant amounts in brain tissue in autism.

A recognised neurotoxin accepted (by me at least) to be the cause of dialysis encephalopathy and Alzheimer’s disease is found in very high concentrations in brain tissue in autism.

Hallelujah, I hear the cry. We have it, the cause of autism. But no, instead, those organisations charged with spending taxpayer’s money on autism research use that money to campaign against a role for aluminium in autism. Charities, taking your money, such as Autistica in the UK and SFARI in the US, use that money to suppress any research wishing to address the link between aluminium and autism. They are taking your hard-earned money and rather than use it to prevent autism they are using it to celebrate autism. If you do not believe my rant then ask them about the progress that they have made in establishing the cause and hence prevention of autism.

Autism and Alzheimer’s disease have too much in common. They are both diseases of politics and make far too much money for those with vested interests to wish to see them prevented. Both are shrouded in opaque genetics, purposely so to ensure that such meaningless research is endless and a sink for your taxes and your generosity. I know from personal experience that neurologists the world over continue to extoll the myth that Alzheimer’s disease is an inevitable consequence of aging. We have countered this convenient nonsense by showing that brain donors aged 47 to 105 with no aluminium in their brains had neither symptoms nor neuropathology relating to Alzheimer’s disease or any neurodegenerative disease. No aluminium, no Alzheimer’s disease. Similarly we are told that autism is the cause of, as yet unidentified genetic differences and that no one is to blame. Wrong, we are to blame and we can make a difference by ensuring that autism becomes a brain disease of the past. Whether aluminium is a cause or contributor to autism should eventually be understood. However, I am willing to bet my reputation, for what it is worth, that like Alzheimer’s disease, no aluminium, no autism.

I am sorry if some of my opinions on autism seem a little harsh. That is why I have described this substack as a rant and not a musing. My opinions emanate from the frustration of knowing that autism is and should be preventable. Thank you for bearing with me.