There is a great interest from some in the autism parent community for environmental risk factor research. There is also a belief that this work is not being performed. While the amount of environmental risk factor research is less than the IACC has advised be performed (a point I made in my first IACC meeting), the amount of attention to environmental risk factors has been increasing.
Given this, I thought it would be interesting to see what projects and how many have been funded by the NIH this year (I believe they work on a fiscal year ending Sept. 30, so we have much but not all of the 2014 information available). I used the NIH Reporter website and did a very unscientific search for autism and environment, autism and risk and similar searches.
Below are the funded projects I’ve found. Some are directly on topic. Some more peripherally. And I know I’ve left some out (some on purpose–like Zebrafish studies–and some I missed). I think there are 33 projects below. Something like $20M. Keep in mind, not all Federally funded autism research goes through the NIH and not all autism research is Federally funded.
As I like to point out in these articles, you won’t find this information on the websites of the autism organizations which claim to be focused on environmental risk factor research. In fact, you are more likely to find statements that there is no such research ongoing or it is being blocked.
Here’s a quote from Sallie Bernard of SafeMinds, a quote that was repeated by Congressman Posey at a hearing held last year on autism:
“By ignoring the environmental component to autism, the government and scientific community have made a massive strategic error, wasting enormous amounts of money and time in mostly fruitless genetics-only research that has not helped us stop new cases of autism or helped people living with severe autism”
I think one can argue that more investment should be made. But “ignoring”? I realize that very few people will go to NIH Reporter and search for these projects. But I expect accuracy from those claiming to lead the autism community and acting as though they know the research landscape on autism and the environment.
I was going to ignore the “fruitless” comment above, but I just can’t. I sat on the subgroup writing the IACC’s updates on risk factor research in the Strategic Plan (question 3). As part of that I had the honor of working with some excellent researchers, both on the genetics and the environmental side. If I may be so bold as to relate what I heard in those discussions: I never heard these researchers claim that the genetics research was “fruitless”. Quite the opposite. Was there a strong sense that environmental risk factor research could be better funded? That was certainly my take away. And I agree. My predecessors on the IACC wrote a Plan that called for more research in this area.
That said, I am reminded of my favorite old saying
There’s more politics in science than science in politics.
Except quite frankly, I don’t think the message that environmental risk factor research is being “ignored” and “fruitless” has anything to do with science. It’s just politics.
Here’s that list of funded research (in no particular order):
POPULATION-BASED AUTISM GENETICS & ENVIRONMENT STUDY $655,813
PROSPECTIVE EVALUATION OF AIR POLLUTION, COGNITION, AND AUTISM FROM BIRTH ONWARD $545,679
PESTICIDE EXPOSURE AND CHILDHOOD AUTISM $184,503
PRENATAL TIMING OF HEAVY METAL EXPOSURES FROM AUTISTIC AND NON-AUTISTIC CHILDREN $231,692
MD CADDRE: STUDY TO EXPLORE EARLY DEVELOPMENT, SEED PHASE II $91,706
ANTECEDANTS SEQUELAE OF CHILDHOOD ONSET DISEASE $432,000
MITOCHONDRIAL DYSFUNCTION DUE TO ABERRANT MTOR-REGULATED MITOPHAGY IN AUTISM $183,568
PRENATAL AND NEONATAL BIOLOGIC MARKERS FOR AUTISM $784,863
AUTISM RISK, PRENATAL ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURES, AND PATHOPHYSIOLOGIC MARKERS $1,793,611
THE ROLES OF ENVIRONMENTAL RISKS AND GEX IN INCREASING ASD PREVALENCE $537,756
METHYLOMIC AND GENOMIC IMPACTS OF ORGANIC POLLUTANTS IN DUP15Q SYNDROME $341,921
EPIDEMIOLOGICAL RESEARCH ON AUTISM IN JAMAICA – PHASE II $564,795
EARLY PREGNANCY STRESS PROGRAMMING OF OFFSPRING EMOTIONALITY $396,000
GENOME-WIDE IDENTIFICATION OF VARIANTS AFFECTING EARLY HUMAN BRAIN DEVELOPMENT $413,630
EPIGENETIC AND TRANSCRIPTIONAL DYSREGULATION IN AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER $531,208
EPIGENETIC INFLUENCE ON THYROID HORMONE ACTION IN THE BRAIN AND ON BEHAVIOR $391,250
MATERNAL ADVERSITY AND EPIGENETIC AND BEHAVIORAL PROGRAMMING ACROSS GENERATIONS $583,246
EXPLORING INTERACTIONS BETWEEN FOLATE AND ENVIRONMENTAL RISK FACTORS FOR AUTISM $118,717
MD CADDRE: STUDY TO EXPLORE EARLY DEVELOPMENT, SEED PHASE II $1,600,000
CALIFORNIA CADDRE-SEED PHASE II $1,100,000
NC CADDRE: STUDY TO EXPLORE EARLY DEVELOPMENT (SEED) PHASE II $1,100,000
COLORADO CADDRE STUDY TO EXPLORE EARLY DEVELOPMENT CADDRE_SEED II $1,100,000
PA-CADDRE: STUDY TO EXPLORE EARLY DEVELOPMENT (SEED) PHASE II $1,100,000
SEX-DEPENDENT MICROGLIAL COLONIZATION AND VULNERABILITY TO A NEONATAL INFECTION $272,270
PRENATAL SEX STEROIDS, BISPHENOL A, PHTHALATES, AND SEXUALLY DIMORPHIC BEHAVIORS $244,996
ENVIRONMENT, IMPRINTING, AND NEURODEVELOPMENT $799,726
IN UTERO ANTIDEPRESSANT EXPOSURES AND RISK FOR AUTISM $348,000
SEX DIFFERENCES IN DEVELOPING MICROGLIA: IMPLICATIONS FOR SYNAPTIC PRUNING $392,500
ARE ENDOCRINE DISRUPTING COMPOUNDS ENVIRONMENTAL RISK FACTORS FOR AUTISM? $237,750
THE EFFECT OF MATERNAL OBESITY AND INFLAMMATION ON NEURONAL AND MICROGLIAL FUNCTI $78,250
TRANSCRIPTIONAL AND EPIGENETIC SIGNATURES OF HUMAN BRAIN DEVELOPMENT AND AUTISM $1,542,279
PROJECT 2: THE IMPACT OF ASSISTED REPRODUCTIVE TECHNOLOGIES ON THE LONG-TERM EPI $266,000
PRENATAL FACTORS AND RISK OF AUTISM IN A FINNISH NATIONAL BIRTH COHORT $579,293
One last note: I don’t see funding for the EARLI network. That strikes me as a shame.
—
By Matt Carey
Note: I serve as a public member to the IACC but all statements are my own.
Left Brain Right Brain 
Part of the problem is that these groups don’t understand the complexities of genetic and epigenetic research and such avenues point away from their coveted “environment”, i.e. an external force that can be blamed. This cohort of parents don’t want to know that their genes whether inherited or de novo mutations could be responsible even though such self-blame is ridulous and pointless. Additionally, they ignore environmental research because to them, “environmental” is code for “vaccines”. A shame really as numerous, envrionmental studies are providing more viable information about autism aetiology.
Often they don’t ignore environmental research, they mock it. If it isn’t vaccines, they are very hostile.
They claim that genetics is a “blame the mother” cause, but the ignore the huge guilt they have instilled in a generation of parents with the vaccine hypothesis.
You’re right, ignore was the wrong word to use. Mock and/or denial is correct.
My money’s still on acetaminophen.
Prenatal or postnatal?
Both.
Pre-conception use may also be of interest, if sulfur depletion is playing a role, and a woman begins a pregnancy with a deficiency.
Just my little pet hypothesis.
Okay, dokay. That is fair honest opinion.