Researchers at the University of California-Davis M.I.N.D. Institute suggest that some cases of “regressive autism”—-in which a child seems to be developing normally and then loses skills and becomes autistic, in contrast to “early onset autism”—-may be connected to the immune systems of mothers during pregnancy. Antibodies in the blood of mothers of autistic children were found to bind with fetal brain cells and affect healthy brain development. More specifics about the study from Science Daily:

[Judy] Van de Water, senior author of the study and professor of rheumatology, allergy and clinical immunology, and her team began their research with blood …read more