Idaho State University is a major research facility in Idaho; faculty and students alike at ISU are often conducting research relating to various majors and areas of study. Recently, a team of researchers at ISU have started the process to make what could be a major discovery in the realm of autism studies. Early evidence has been found demonstrating that there may be an environmental cause for the condition.
Research published June 6, 2012 in the open access journal PLoS ONE reports that researchers spent time studying fish who appear to have gained an “autism-like gene expression after exposure to water containing psychoactive pharmaceuticals” according to a press release dispersed by the university on June 11, 2012.
An ISU Associate Professor of Biological Sciences, Michael Thomas, was the lead researcher in the project. He said in the press-release that these findings are significant but not conclusive at this early point in time.
“We’ve really proposed a new question, but not any new answers. But asking a new question is the first step towards learning something new, and in many ways, it’s the most important step. It is our hope that this new question will useful for the autism research community, and eventually lead to fruitful new answers. It is important to remember that much more research on this topic is needed – it’s not time to draw any conclusions, yet,” said Thomas.
The research team on this project was made up of ISU professors as well as graduate students, including biological sciences research Assistant Professor Loubin Yang, and graduate students Parag Joshi, Victor Ezike and Gauray Kaushik. The university also worked with Rebecca Klaper at the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee School for Freshwater Sciences.
The research conducted focuses on the effect of certain pharmaceuticals in fish, which correlates to the potential effects on humans. A major thought provoked by the research was whether traces of certain drugs in drinking water could cause pregnant women to pass along the drug traces to their fetus, potentially causing issues with brain development.
Thomas explained the potential effect on the fetus in the press release: “The drugs affect activity of serotonin and other neurotransmitters, which are important in the development of neurological networks and, basically, affect how the brain is wired.”
Pharmaceuticals studied included the anti-seizure drug carbamazepine as well as two anti-depression drugs, fluoxetine and venlafaxine, all of which are commonly prescribed. Thomas also noted that the introduction of these drugs “correspond to periods of rapid increase in the prevalence of autism.” However, Thomas stressed that this research was still at a very early stage, and that “at this time there is no reason for pregnant women to be concerned about the results of the study.”