Hey all,
After some recent education on my part, I learned quit a bit about myself..interestingly enough I am finding out that the various issues I have seem to be inter-connected..never would have guessed
Anyway, now I am wondering who else may have IDB and either diagnosed or thinks they have some sort of autistic spectrum issues. Anyone?
Anyhow, I recently learned about Aspergers syndrome, and then found out my mother already thought I had it..so ya..interesting.
Here is the wiki on it, perhaps it will help someone else!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspergers_syndrome
And one article I found on IBD and Autism connections is located here, but since most of it doesnt apply to this topic I will paste the portion that does:
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Is there a link between autism and bowel disease?
There is growing recognition that many autistic people suffer from bowel symptoms that cause very real pain and distress. What is certainly not clear is whether it is the autism that can cause bowel problems or the bowel problems that can help cause autism.
It is known that people with neurological problems, like autism, are particularly likely to experience these gut symptoms. This may be because the brain and the gut are closely connected through the nervous system. Autism involves the incorrect functioning of parts of the brain, and therefore it would not be surprising if this led in some cases to the bowel not functioning correctly.
In addition, the bowel problems may be exacerbated by the autistic behaviour affecting the diet of the person. People with autism can sometimes develop very strong food preferences - such as only eating one type of food, or only food of a certain colour - which can itself produce bowel problems.
It is also inevitable that some people with autism will suffer from bowel diseases such as Crohn's and ulcerative colitis, which can sometimes be very serious. This does not mean that these conditions are linked with autism. It is just that some people will be unfortunate enough to be affected by both, because bowel conditions are found across the population.
The question of whether there are also unusual biological abnormalities in the bowels of some autistic people is one that is currently being investigated. Some researchers claim to have seen unusual immune cell patterns or distinctive microscopic features in the bowel tissue of some autistic patients. Recent work has also suggested that there may be differences in the immune systems of people with autism, and so it might be possible that this could affect the gut. It is not known yet if these differences will be confirmed, and if so, whether they are specific to autism or also found in other conditions.
If a link between such bowel disease and autism were proven it would not in itself support the existence of a link between MMR and autism. If the bowel disease was indeed new and had not existed before the introduction of MMR this might point towards a link. There is no convincing evidence that this is the case. Indeed, researchers have reported finding such bowel problems in autistic children who have never had MMR.
After some recent education on my part, I learned quit a bit about myself..interestingly enough I am finding out that the various issues I have seem to be inter-connected..never would have guessed
Anyway, now I am wondering who else may have IDB and either diagnosed or thinks they have some sort of autistic spectrum issues. Anyone?
Anyhow, I recently learned about Aspergers syndrome, and then found out my mother already thought I had it..so ya..interesting.
Here is the wiki on it, perhaps it will help someone else!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspergers_syndrome
And one article I found on IBD and Autism connections is located here, but since most of it doesnt apply to this topic I will paste the portion that does:
----------------------------
Is there a link between autism and bowel disease?
There is growing recognition that many autistic people suffer from bowel symptoms that cause very real pain and distress. What is certainly not clear is whether it is the autism that can cause bowel problems or the bowel problems that can help cause autism.
It is known that people with neurological problems, like autism, are particularly likely to experience these gut symptoms. This may be because the brain and the gut are closely connected through the nervous system. Autism involves the incorrect functioning of parts of the brain, and therefore it would not be surprising if this led in some cases to the bowel not functioning correctly.
In addition, the bowel problems may be exacerbated by the autistic behaviour affecting the diet of the person. People with autism can sometimes develop very strong food preferences - such as only eating one type of food, or only food of a certain colour - which can itself produce bowel problems.
It is also inevitable that some people with autism will suffer from bowel diseases such as Crohn's and ulcerative colitis, which can sometimes be very serious. This does not mean that these conditions are linked with autism. It is just that some people will be unfortunate enough to be affected by both, because bowel conditions are found across the population.
The question of whether there are also unusual biological abnormalities in the bowels of some autistic people is one that is currently being investigated. Some researchers claim to have seen unusual immune cell patterns or distinctive microscopic features in the bowel tissue of some autistic patients. Recent work has also suggested that there may be differences in the immune systems of people with autism, and so it might be possible that this could affect the gut. It is not known yet if these differences will be confirmed, and if so, whether they are specific to autism or also found in other conditions.
If a link between such bowel disease and autism were proven it would not in itself support the existence of a link between MMR and autism. If the bowel disease was indeed new and had not existed before the introduction of MMR this might point towards a link. There is no convincing evidence that this is the case. Indeed, researchers have reported finding such bowel problems in autistic children who have never had MMR.