Friday, December 16, 2016

Vaccinating against Autism

Right. So we "vaccinate" kids against in-utero development of autism, by giving the mother vitamin D supplements.
To be fair, the actual study is basically unreadable for those not expert in statistical analysis. But the short conclusion is "Just as prenatal folate supplementation has reduced the incidence of spina bifida, we speculate that prenatal vitamin D supplementation may reduce the incidence of ASD."
So they speculate based upon their findings. But if this were to be followed up by a 10-15 year study where we start increasing vitamin D intake during pregnancy (which in itself is harmless) and a notable response is seen in Autism-spectrum related problems, it would further strengthen the evidence for this theory.
In the Netherlands, past generations would be given "levertraan" (cod liver oil). This stuff tasted horrible, so many kids who grew up decided not to force this upon their kids. Guess what "levertraan" is a prime source of... #GrandmaKnewBest
Where I found this: https://science.slashdot.org/story/16/12/15/2317248/vitamin-d-deficiency-during-pregnancy-linked-to-autism
Where they linked from: http://newatlas.com/vitamin-d-autism-pregnancy/46956/
What the actual research says: http://www.nature.com/mp/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/mp2016213a.html