Philosophy Wire by Spiros Kakos [2013-03-14]: Autism results from abnormal cell communication. Testing a new theory, researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have used a newly discovered function of an old drug to restore cell communications in a mouse model of autism, reversing symptoms of the devastating disorder.
"Our (cell danger) theory suggests that autism happens because cells get stuck in a defensive metabolic mode and fail to talk to each other normally, which can interfere with brain development and function", said Robert Naviaux, MD, PhD, professor of medicine and co-director of the Mitochondrial and Metabolic Disease Center at UC San Diego. "We used a class of drugs that has been around for almost a century to treat other diseases to block the 'danger' signal in a mouse model, allowing cells to return to normal metabolism and restore cell communication". Clinical trial of children with autism spectrum disorder are planned for the coming year. [source: web news] Is treating symptoms the same as curing? If autism continues to exist as a problem, but the cells can communicate normally due to our intervention, are we correct to consider the patient "ok"?
"Our (cell danger) theory suggests that autism happens because cells get stuck in a defensive metabolic mode and fail to talk to each other normally, which can interfere with brain development and function", said Robert Naviaux, MD, PhD, professor of medicine and co-director of the Mitochondrial and Metabolic Disease Center at UC San Diego. "We used a class of drugs that has been around for almost a century to treat other diseases to block the 'danger' signal in a mouse model, allowing cells to return to normal metabolism and restore cell communication". Clinical trial of children with autism spectrum disorder are planned for the coming year. [source: web news] Is treating symptoms the same as curing? If autism continues to exist as a problem, but the cells can communicate normally due to our intervention, are we correct to consider the patient "ok"?
(c) Philosophy WIRES - Commenting world news from philosophy's perspective...
