A Risky Pair: Autism and Epilepsy
Autism is the unifying enigma. Educators, psychologists, psychiatrists, neurologists, behaviorists, pediatricians, and families all together are baffled by the puzzle called "autism." The results of a study published in the April 15 issue of the Journal of Child Neurology, only adds more complex and mysterious pieces to the puzzle.
The researches examined data from the California State Department of Developmental Services and concluded that people with both autism and epilepsy have an 800 percent higher death rate than those with autism alone. If this finding isn't bad enough, the team also found through examining brain tissue samples from people with autism, that among those donors, 39 percent of them also had epilepsy. The grim message from this study is that the combination of autism and epilepsy in a given individual is a huge risk factor for early death. Autism and epilepsy are often an unholy alliance.
Autism is a disorder trying to find a definition, and with only modest success to this point. The DSM V(Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Edition 5)will be issued in 2013, and will re-classify and shuffle many of the symptoms and characteristics thought to be attributable to autism. The defined "Autism Spectrum" itself has both expanded and diminished over the years in an attempt to fit in all of the behaviors and affectations that may, or may not, be part of the disorder.
Epilepsy is nearly as mysterious as autism. It is best described as a "seizure disorder," but its genesis is often unknown. It is sometimes attributed to traumatic or acquired brain injury, disease, birth trauma, or as a childhood reaction to a high fever. But epilepsy may have its onset at any time during the life span, without trauma to the head or disease to the body. There is a class of seizure disorders that are believed to be "psychogenic," but are nonetheless best addressed by neurologists. Drug abuse, toxins, intoxication, and other factors can also cause seizures which may or may not be associated with a diagnosis of epilepsy.
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