A Frontiers' study conducted in 2013 shows that autism could be detected through ultrasound to peer beneath the skull. Nonetheless, some researchers, whose work was published in NCBI, find that ultrasound is linked to autism. So what is more important now, to detect autism or to get rid of ultrasound to avoid autism?
The Frontier's study was lead by James Jeffrey Bradstreet, Stefania Pacini and Marco Ruggiero. The three scientists studied 23 children with autism and 15 control children. These kids were unaffected siblings of the autistic group. The authors studied the skull overlaying the brain's temporal cortex using ultrasound. They found two abnormalities in the brains of the kids with autism as they had the ultrasound:
1. "There was an increased thickness of extra-axial fluid (EAF), a fluid-filled space between the arachnoid mater and the pia mater, two of the meninges.
2. " there was cortical dysplasia - structural abnormalities in the cortex itself - namely 'hypoechoic lesions within the substance of the cortex, or disturbed layering within the gray matter.'
On the other hand, ultrasound is linked to Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) according to some researchers. The central nervous system alterations in ASDs were described while some similar changes have also been described in animals after exposure to ultrasound. Nonetheless, the analysis of in utero exposure in humans did not show harmful effects in neonates or children, which may include school performance, behavioral changes and attention disorders.
Ultrasound is a form of energy and we cannot deny the fact that it has effects in the tissues it traverses. It should therefore be restricted as per medical indications and must be done carefully by trained professionals. The waves should be released for a short period and as low an intensity as compatible with precise diagnosis. You should therefore be very careful with ultrasound to protect your child.
