M is for Mitochondrial Dysfunction. Mito-what you may be asking yourself. Take a moment and go back to high school biology class… remember that oval looking “organelle” in the cell with the squiggly lines- those little guys are your MITOCHONDRIA and they make energy to power every cell (except red blood cells) in your body! Just like little batteries. Take a look at these videos below to learn more.
Again I know you but be wondering what do mitochondria have to do with Autism.
To understand that you need to imagine a large city on a very hot day…when everyone is running their air conditioners and there is not enough energy to meet the demands of the body. A BROWN OUT… or a decrease in energy production until the demands (the air conditioners) lessen. So think about the same concept in the body and wonder for a moment what a brain running on half or quarter power might look like? Might it cause behavioral, psychiatric, aggressive, regressive or other types of behaviors that are often connected with a diagnosis of autism?
Turns out that is exactly what some researchers have found (here, here, here and here) when studying the biochemistry of autism and what is going on at a cellular level.
You can check out these Empowered Medical Advocacy resources if you want to dig deeper :
