Recent Rise In Certain Disorders Could Be Explained By Ongoing Human Evolution

[HuckleB]

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/175710.php

"The subtle but ongoing pressures of human evolution could explain the seeming rise of disorders such as autism, autoimmune diseases, and reproductive cancers, researchers write in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Certain adaptations that once benefited humans may now be helping such ailments persist in spite of - or perhaps because of - advancements in modern culture and medicine. "This work points out linkages within the plethora of new information in human genetics and the implications for human biology and public health, and also illustrates how one could teach these perspectives in medical and premedical curricula," says author Peter Ellison, John Cowles Professor of Anthropology at Harvard University.

...

Colloquium presentations described in the current paper include research suggesting that:

** Autism and schizophrenia may be associated with the over-expression of paternally or maternally derived genes and influences, a hypothesis advanced by Bernard Crespi of Simon Fraser University.

** Maternal and paternal genes engage in a subtle tug-of-war well into childhood with consequences for childhood development, as posited by David Haig, George Putnam Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at Harvard.

** Humans may be susceptible to allergies, asthma, and autoimmune diseases because of increased hygiene, according to Kathleen Barnes of Johns Hopkins University. Without being exposed to intestinal worms and parasites, as our ancestors were, our immune systems are hypersensitive.

(More)..."

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Lots of theory here, but some interesting directions in which to head with some research.

[Cirque du So-What]

1. In a totally unscientific manner, I've pondered autism

and the possibility that it's an evolutionary mechanism. Perhaps our genetic code is smarter than we are, and it's steering evolution toward humans that are better equipped to survive catastrophic events coming down the pike. High-functioning autistic people would be less likely to freak out over horrendous loss of life as more emotional people would be.

[eridani]

3. Or maybe it is like the relationship of sickle cell anemia to malaria resistance

A few more low-functioning headbangers is the price we pay for having more scientists and engineers.

[NNadir]

5. A great many scientists and engineers are, in fact, graceful and articulate polymaths.

I have known scientists who are not merely scientists, but are also experts

It is very difficult to characterize a "scientific" personality.

Science is a very human enterprise, involved not only in intellectual "muscle," but also in things that are very much involved in art, like creativity, vision and a sense of beauty.

If you must know, our culture does not select for scientific strength, in my less than humble opinion, but instead selects for less desirable traits, like unrestrained greed, wishful thinking and obliviousness.

[AlecBGreen]

7. +1

while spending time in China, I was amazed at how they value intelligence. Calling someone "very clever" is quite the compliment. Here, its met with defensive denials ("I am NOT smart!") or a punch in the mouth.

[old mark]

2. I find the theories on allergies, asthma, etc very interesting, and

something I have thought for years. Since the advent of antibiotics only decades ago, they have found their way into many products we use many times daily, including our drinking water and food. The increase in allergic/immune system diseases has pretty much paralleled their use, IMO.

mark

[Bigmack]

8. Yeh, I have anaflaxis (sp???) allergic reactions

to nuts and buckwheat, and I've been wondering for years if (semi-miraculous) modern medical treatments for this DANGEROUS allergic reaction haven't in fact increased the number of folks genetically predisposed to these sorts of allergic reactions. In my own defense, my dear daughter is adopted, and I've no biological off-spring. Still tho I DO wonder if allergies aren't more common because folks like me can now survive and re-produce? Ms Bigmack

[old mark]

9. Me, too - if people who would have died young now live to reproduce

and pass on our undesirable traits, could this be at least partly responsible for the increase in these diseases?
My father-just turned 93 on Jan 1-does not believe in allergies. When he was growing up, some people were "sickly", did not do well, and soon died.
He had the flu once in his life, first had back trouble in his late 70's.
He can't understand how people can be sick, because he so seldom was.

mark

[Bigmack]

12. I'll trade my genes

with your dad's ANY day! But my gramma made it to 97 on healthy daily doses of sugar, which gives this sugar-holic hope..... Ms Bigmack

[old mark]

13. My dad's mom lived to almost 90, drinking homemade wine.

My mom's family all dies in their 50's.
I have already survived 2 heart attacks and am going on 63, so I'll be happy to split the difference...say 85 or so.....

Fortunately all of them retained their mental functioning till the end. Such as it was...
(I don't do the wine, but love my ice cream on occasion.)
mark

[TZ]

14. Actually the rise in allergic/immune system

also parallels the "overprotectiveness" syndrome. There is a reason doctors tell parents to let their kids play in the dirt...Its thought that parents who go out of their way to "protect" their children agaisnt getting bugs are actually hurting them but not letting the immune system "learn and develop" properly. It is thought that because of this, allergies and asthma (which are basically disfunctions of the immune system) are becomming more common. Your immune system develops strength through exposure to the environment, not to being protected from any little germ.

[TZ]

4. Yes it has to do with living longer as well

Our genes tend to wear out as we age, so the self correcting mechanisms we have as youngsters fades as we get older. And since we are extending lives, more of these diseases of the worn out genes (cancer, alzheimers, ect etc) are definitely more prevalent.

[laconicsax]

6. ...or it could be explained by big pharma POISONING us.

:sarcasm:

[HuckleB]

10. Nice!

:rofl:

[Kip Humphrey]

11. Humans may be susceptible to allergies, asthma, and autoimmune diseases because of agribusiness

MY hypothysis.

[TZ]

15. Doubtful.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=228&topic_id=61444&mesg_id=61540
I make my living as an immunologist btw, so I think I have a much better idea of how the immune system functions.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

16. My hypothesis about allergies and asthma

Where are these found?

Western industrialized countries, but largely in the urban areas
Still rare in Eastern Europe, though
Started increasing in urban Japan in the late 1960s, early 1970s
Are increasing now in urban parts of China and India

So is increased hygiene to blame?

Hmm, I can't speak about India, but no one would accuse China of being overly clean.
And what about Eastern Europe? It may be rundown, but I've never heard it described as dirty.

What about air pollution?

It's surely present in Western industrialized countries and in the industrialized parts of China and India, but wait, Eastern Europe was notorious for air pollution, and it has lower rates of allergies and asthma.

Add to this the fact that children who live near freeways have a higher incidence of asthma than other children.

I have to conclude that cars and trucks, especially diesel, are to blame.

Add my own anecdotal evidence. I was allergy free living first in a small town in southern Minnesota and then a quiet residential neighborhood in Minneapolis, but I became big-time allergic-to-everything at the age of six within a few months after we moved to a house that was along an arterial street that brought diesel trucks through the neighborhood 24 hours a day.

It's worth considering. But it's probably politically impossible to implicate an industry that is responsible for so much economic activity.