Originally posted by WyrdeOne
That is a great find!
Treatment should be easy enough, but I'm really curious as to the cause. What would cause the immune system of a pregnant woman to identify fetal
brain tissue as an attacking pathogen?
A number of things could cause it. We assume that the mother's body treats the fetus as a welcome addition, but there are some of us (that would be
me) who get morning sickness within a week or two of getting pregnant (which is how I knew) and stayed that way for most of the pregnancy.
So... some of us have bodies that are not well adapted to pregnancy.
On top of that, repeated exposure to something can create allergies. I have very few allergies (for example) but after a lifetime of laundry I've
developed an allergy to laundry soaps.
Why would more women nowadays respond in this way?
I suspect it's because more babies survive nowadays. In the past, autistic children were often institutionalized and certainly almost never found
spouses. Someone with Aspergers would have a very difficult time finding a partner.
But with modern treatment and educational mainstreaming and better medicine, a lot of these marginal cases which may have the genetic tendency survive
to go on and live wonderful lives... and have children.
I mean, it's got to be something environmental, right? Some change in diet or the presence of a toxin that wasn't ubiquitous in years
past?
Food for thought...
I wouldn't rule out environmental causes, myself, but neither would I finger them as a primary cause. This happens in vitro and during the time when
the brain "wiring" is set up.