In recent years, the number of autistic children around the world has grown rapidly. The number of such patients increases by 7-10% annually. According to expert estimates, every 130th boy and every 150th girl suffers from autism today.
But the predictions of scientists are scary: according to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in 10 years, every second child in the United States will be autistic. Today experts suggest that herbicides used in agriculture are to blame.
In recent years, autism has come to be called the new disease of civilization. It is manifested by the predominance of a closed inner life, active detachment from the outside world, and poverty in the expression of emotions. Until now, no one knows the exact cause of this disorder. Some scientists associate the onset of autism with impaired development of the brain. In addition, it is believed that autism may be the result of a complex combination of genetic and environmental factors.
However, American scientists seem to have made a sensational discovery concerning one of the possible reasons for the emergence and spread of this disease of civilization. According to a study by MIT researcher Dr. Stephanie Seneff, released during a university conference on genetically modified organisms (GMOs), the use of new types of agricultural fertilizers leads to impaired brain development in newborns.
So, the scientist compiled tables that clearly demonstrate the relationship between the increasing use in agriculture of the chemical herbicide based on glyphosate "Roundup" and the increasing rates of autism. By the way, the world's first genetically modified plant was created precisely because of this herbicide. Today, 90% of all transgenic crops existing in the world are plants that are resistant to certain chemicals, mainly to Roundup.
… The herbicidal properties of glyphosate were first discovered in 1970 by John Franz. The ubiquitous use of Roundup has increased especially since the 1990s and continues to grow. Meanwhile, the number of autistic children in the United States in 1975 was 1 in 5000, today it is 1 in 68.
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Recently, data were published that the active ingredient of glyphosate, found in the breast milk of American mothers, is at a dangerous level - it is 760-1600 times (!) Higher than the permissible standards for European drinking water.
Testing has shown that, on average, Americans have ten times more glyphosate accumulations in their urine than Europeans, and biomarkers have been found in autistic children that indicate an excessive concentration of glyphosate in the body.
Dr. Seneff also noted that most of the studies examining the effects of Roundup take too short a time frame, without considering how glyphosate is gradually accumulated in the environment and in humans. According to the scientist's forecasts, by 2025 one in two American children will be autistic.
By the way, today Roundup is widely used in Russia. Many summer residents buy it even for their own gardens - to fight weeds.
Whether there is a connection here or not, the number of autistic children is growing in Russia as well. In the capital's Scientific and Practical Center for Pediatric Psychoneurology of the Department of Health, it is planned to open the first department in the city for children with autism in the near future.
“This is a new direction of our work. Unfortunately, recently there are more and more children with this disease, and not only in our country, but all over the world. However, unlike other countries, in our country, such patients are not dealt with by neurologists, but by psychiatrists. And not every mother is ready to entrust her baby to a psychiatrist - as a result, people either do not receive treatment or are treated with non-traditional methods. Therefore, we plan to open the first department in the capital, where they will deal with autism,”says Tatyana Batysheva, chief children's neurologist in Moscow, Moscow City Duma deputy.
As for the treatment of autism, then, alas, until scientists have come up with ways of radical treatment of this disease, and to improve the condition of such patients, they mainly use psychological methods of rehabilitation of patients.
However, it is possible that stem medicine will make a breakthrough in this area. Studies by Chinese and American scientists have shown that the condition of autistic children who underwent stem cell transplantation improves significantly.