The Indelible Bonobo Experience

Autism linked to gut bacteria, study finds - thestar.com, published in the journal Translational Psychiatry

• The study provides more evidence that abnormal bacteria found in the gut of many children with autism produce a waste product that is carried in the bloodstream, affecting organ systems including the brain and, in turn, behaviour.
• MacFabe says the new research is significant because it uncovers an important link between problems related to digestion, immune systems, metabolic problems and behaviour among some children with autism.
• It also indicates there was no genetic factor causing the abnormal energy metabolism, and points to an environmental trigger.
• “This paper shows we think environmental factors could play a much more major role than was previously thought,” he said.
• The researchers tracked 213 children with autism and found 17 per cent of them had consistently abnormal levels of the unique blood markers and evidence of abnormal cell energy function.

Asperger’s syndrome removed from new psychiatrists’ diagnostic guide - Need to know - Macleans.ca

• Joshua Muggleton, a psychology student who has been diagnosed with Asperger’s, writes in The Guardian: “…after looking at the research I was forced to conclude that actually, the DSM-V is a big step in the right direction. For years, studies have been suggesting that autism and Asperger’s syndrome are the same condition, differentiated only by level of impairment.”
• Another notable change in the forthcoming DSM is that the term gender identity disorder, which is used when someone’s sexual organs don’t match their mental gender, will be replaced with the more neutral term “gender dysphoria,” reports Slate.

 see also ONN