Based on research conducted by the John Hopkins Children's Investigators found that mothers of children with autism have antibodies that can cause disturbances in the fetus while in the womb. The antibodies can cross the placenta and cause changes that lead to autism. Another study in Sacramento, California by Davis MIND Institute and Center for Children's Environmental Health also found that the antibody binds on the body of pregnant women with fetal brain cells, which likely interfere with brain development that may affect be autism. Autism itself is a disorder with a major problem in the brain and is characterized by impaired social interaction, impaired communication and repetitive behaviors, and 90% of patients with no known cause. Genetic, metabolic, and environmental factors related to the cause of autism is estimated. This study starts from the acquisition of an unusual antibody levels in children with autism and from postmortem brain tissue (dead) which gives immunity disorders (immune system) in the area of the brain. Antibodies are proteins in the body respond to viruses and bacteria or sometimes in a few cases of autoimmune disorders, antibodies may attack the body's own cells.
The majority of children with autism do not have an autoimmune disease, so the question that needs to be answered is whether the antibodies are found here are provided by the mother's antibodies while in the womb which can interfere with fetal brain directly.
To test their hypothesis (John Hopkins), the research team used a technique called immunoblotting (Western blot technology) in which antibodies derived from blood samples exposed to adult and fetal brain tissue to confirm whether the antibodies recognize and react to specific brain proteins.
Compare antibody interactions and the brain on a sample of 100 mothers with autistic children and 100 mothers with children without autism. Researchers found a greater reactivity of about 40% of mothers with children with autism. Furthermore, the presence of maternal antibodies was associated with a reduction in the development of a child who is one of the signs of autism.
Although research has linked autism with antibodies to the fetal brain, but further studies are needed to confirm whether these antibodies can cross the placenta and cause fetal brain damage.
The fact that pregnant women with antibodies may cause fetal brain damage, does not mean that she will always have a child with autism. Autism itself is a complex condition caused by the interaction between genetic factors, immunity, and environmental factors.