The autism spectrum is a complex tapestry of neurological disorders whose fabric medical science has only begun to unravel. Not a year goes by that doesn’t see multiple segments of the worldwide scientific community present their evidence supposedly shedding light on one or more supposedly eye-opening causes of autism but few clues have dramatically improved any understanding of exactly how it develops. That’s what makes emerging proof of correlations between this family of conditions and more comprehensively understood environmental markers such as toxic mold exposure all the more valuable: the more completely we can fill in one side of an equation, the more data we can apply in turn to the other.
To be clear, the studies within the past decade that have stood by a correlation between indoor toxic mold exposure and presentation of classic autism and related autism spectrum disorders do not begin to scratch the surface of proving or explaining the processes of a causal tie between the two. Thus far, they observe that the former tends to accompany the latter with notable frequency. Not much more, in any conclusive sense. However, history tells us just how broadly a single breakthrough can dovetail through persistent questioning and research into discoveries that change the fabric of the world.
What Is Autism?
The autism spectrum is comprised of a number of complex brain-development disorders characterized by various degrees of impaired verbal and nonverbal communication, difficulty adapting and tendencies toward repetitive behaviors. Understood to be rooted in the brain’s earliest stages of development, signs of classic autism and such related conditions as Rett syndrome, childhood disintegrative disorder, pervasive developmental disorder-not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS, for short) and Asperger syndrome typically present between 12 and 18 months of age, although some infants and toddlers affected by an autism-spectrum condition can display normal development until early in their second years of life.
That is generally the latest point at which children with autism “regress,” losing various skills that had formed normally up to that stage. From that point onward, autism and autism-spectrum disorders are often associated with labored motor coordination and attention spans, varying degrees of intellectual disability and such physical health issues as gastrointestinal disturbances and poor sleep. However, many individuals who fall within the autism spectrum also display profound proficiency in music, math, art, and visual skills.
What Is Mold Toxicity Syndrome (MTS)?
What medical and mold remediation professionals alike know as MTS is also known scientifically as Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome in Water-Damaged Buildings (CIRS-WDB), an on-the-nose name for a condition that prevents many individuals from clearing mold toxins encountered inside a building suffering severe water damage from their bodies as effectively as the majority of the human population. When mycotoxins linger in the body untreated instead of being immediately pulled out by various binding micro-agents and lodge themselves inside cells and tissue, a number of varieties of this toxic bodies can cause significant neurological damage. That’s when it becomes crucial to eliminate and all ongoing exposure to potential mold contaminations, lest the body continue to be infused with these damaging invaders.
What Do Mold Mycotoxins And The Autism Spectrum Have To Do With Each Other?
With each passing study, it becomes apparent that toxic mold exposure is at least one of a number of environmental markers that can initiate development of an autism-spectrum disorder. Jack Thrasher and his colleagues made an astute, valuable non-scientific observation during a non-scientific study that compared neuropsy-chological abnormalities displayed by eight boys confirmed for autism-spectrum disorders to a separate group of six with documented histories of both autism-spectrum disorders and varying degrees of mold toxin exposure. Compared to the average 6.8 abnormalities displayed by the eight boys with no previous mold-exposure history, the second group averages 12.2 abnormalities between them.
Five years later, an unprecedented new study in 2014 by Harvard School of Public Health researchers concluded that children exposed in utero to high levels of particulate air pollution – including mold mycotoxins – were placed at roughly double the risk of autism, with the association being especially strong during the third trimester. Researchers reported no significantly elevated autism risk from the child’s exposure after birth or the mother’s exposure prior to conception.
Instead of observing 14 boys in two groups as in the 2009 study or pregnant women spread across a few select communities, the project funded by Autism Speaks expanded the investigative spoke by tapping into histories of 116,000 participants in the nationally reaching Nurses’ Health Study II across all 50 states. This time, data points included pollution exposures before, during and after pregnancy.
As epidemiologist and Autism Speaks associate director for public health Michael Rosanoff noted, nothing documented to that point confirms beyond a shadow of a doubt that any mother who comes into contact with pollutants during her pregnancy will have a child who develops autism. By the same token, there’s no guaranteeing that a child with autism was exposed in the womb to mycotoxins.
“We know autism is a complex disorder and underlying genetic and biological factors interact to influence susceptibility,” Rosanoff said. “The next step is to identify the biological mechanisms that connect air pollution to autism and identify ways to treat if not prevent the harm to brain development.”
Here’s the most important part: mold toxicity may be one of the most treatable suspected triggers for autism. The degree of damage that can be avoided depends strongly on how quickly the mycotoxins are drawn out by the proper medications. The earlier treatment is sought following confirmed contact with toxic mold, the more risks can be mitigated. Since MTS is not a gender-specific condition, there are fewer limits to who and what can be treated successfully.
