Scientists discover possible cause of autism in boys

Scientists have found that the common plastic additive bisphenol A (BPA) is associated with an increased risk of autism in boys. This additive is found in many things, from pacifiers to metal cans and even paper receipts.

A new study that tracked the development of more than 600 babies found that higher levels of the chemical bisphenol A in a pregnant mother's urine more than tripled the chances of a boy developing autism symptoms by the age of two. In addition, the same boys were six times more likely to be diagnosed with autism at the age of 11 - compared to those whose mothers had lower levels of BPA during pregnancy, MailOnline reports.

BPA is a chemical designed to strengthen plastics and prevent metals from rusting, among other things, and has also been linked to higher risks of obesity, asthma, diabetes, and heart disease for more than two decades of careful study of the compound.

But a new study has found not only an obvious link, but also evidence suggesting specific chemical reactions that contribute to autism cases.

"Our work is important because it demonstrates one of the potential biological mechanisms involved. BPA can disrupt hormone-controlled male fetal brain development in several ways, including by inhibiting a key enzyme (aromatase) that controls neurohormones and is particularly important for male fetal brain development," says epidemiologist and public health physician Anne-Louise Ponsonby in a statement about her team's research.

The new study notes that aromatase helps convert some male sex hormones in the brain, known as neural androgens, into neural estrogens.

These estrogens help all people, regardless of gender, regulate inflammation in the brain, maintain the flexibility of synapses that help neurons communicate throughout the nervous system, and help manage cholesterol.

The brain is the most cholesterol-rich organ in the human body, using approximately 20 percent of the total body's supply of these fatty molecules to perform vital functions.

"We found that BPA inhibits the enzyme aromatase and is associated with anatomical, neurological and behavioral changes," said study co-author and biochemist Dr. Wa Ching Boon.

"It seems to be a piece of the autism puzzle," said Dr. Ponsonby.

The team's research took two separate approaches to these findings. First, they took a close look at data collected since 2010 by two Australian universities that tracked a number of health indicators for more than 1,000 children and their parents who participated in the study. The result of this analysis was that boys with "low aromatase activity" were 3.56 times more likely to show signs of autism by the age of two and less likely to show signs of autism in later life. According to the study, the connection with the diagnosis of autism was true for 92 percent of four-year-olds and 70 percent of nine-year-olds.

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