Suspected inefficiency of energy production in autistic kids may be related to less physical activity

Suspected inefficiency of energy production in autistic kids may be related to less physical activity

This is a study that reported an inefficient production of energy in autism at the cellular level. The power plants of the cell (mitocondria) in autistics seemed to function at one third the efficiency seen in neurotypical children. The amazing part is that testing only 10 autistic children the mitochondrial energy production problem was evident.

Of course, anxiety and feeling threatened by strangers play a big role in many autistics withdrawal and refusal to play or other physical activity. However, this mitochondrial problem could be the cellular link that manifests in fatigue and poor stamina.

Nothing in the human body is caused by one factor or one process. Everything we feel, every symptom we experience is the result of multiple factors leading to it. The same applies here. Fatigue is a state of mind, caused by anxiety, fear and a long list of threats. Fatigue is mediated by many hormones, neurohormones and other chemicals in the body. Cellular fatigue is an undercurrent that contributes to the subjective feeling of fatigue. I hope this puts the recent finding into context.

Yet this finding has it's significance since stamina, strength and limb-eye coordination depend in large part on the availability of energy in the cells.

Rami Serhan, MD
http://sovereignresearch.org
http://sovereignresearch.org/psychesmartautismtm
https://autismtm.com