The campaign in support of research is back
2 April 2015 - Genetic research on autism requires high investments for the purchase of technology and equipment. With the campaign "Let's not leave them alone!" the Friends of Campus Bio-Medico Onlus Association launches an appeal for solidarity. From 19 to 25 April 2015 we will all be able to contribute to the financing of the projects carried out by the team of Prof. Antonio Persico in the laboratories of Rome and Milan.
With a simple text message to number 45595 it will be possible to donate 2 euros. By calling the same number from a landline, you can choose to allocate 2 or 5 euros. Otherwise it is possible to support the research with a donation by credit card or bank/postal transfer in the 'SUPPORT US' section.
The funds raised will be used to purchase a second generation DNA sequencer, the only one capable of defining the cause of autism in that 70% of patients in whom currently available techniques are unable to identify a certain cause of disease.
With the funds raised with the 2013 Campaign, on the other hand, it was possible to acquire an 'Eye Tracking' device to follow the eyes of young patients and, thanks to last year's solidarity collection, the purchase of the necessary reagent kits is near for the use of the first generation DNA sequencer and the scanner for Array-CGH, already supplied to the Center 'Mafalda Luce'.
The 2011-2015 Guidelines of the Istituto Superiore di Sanità indicate the pharmacological and rehabilitative therapies available today and based on evidence. The document shows how, while awaiting the drugs of the future, there are still few therapies with proven efficacy. These are mainly behavioral and psychoeducational therapies, some of which involve the parents and not just the child. In the meantime, research has been aiming for some years at finding laboratory biomarkers that allow for earlier identification of the pathology with respect to the onset of behavioral abnormalities. Attention has been paid in particular to the individual's genome and to the possible action of environmental factors, especially in the prenatal period.
“The predominant factor at the origin of autism – explains Professor Persico who leads the only Italian Research Center involved in the EU-AIMS European project – is undoubtedly the genetic one, but environmental factors have also been identified which can cause only the disease, if exposure to them occurs prenatally, such as some viral infections in the first or second trimester of pregnancy on the mother's side. Other studies are also proving a relationship between autism and exposure to some pesticides, again in the prenatal phase. All the other hypotheses are devoid of sufficient evidence, when they are not even real urban legends".
