The rise in autism

When I was growing up in the 1940s and ‘50s, I never knew anyone—or of anyone—who was autistic. Now, off the top of my head, I can name three people who have autistic grandchildren. The rise in autism has commonly been attributed to better record keeping. I never believed this.

During the 1970s, three in 10,000 children were diagnosed with autism. According to the CDC, in 2025, one in 31 U.S. children aged eight are identified with autism spectrum disorder. 

New research, which I learned about from alert reader Don Jordan, indicates that certain drugs, taken during pregnancy, are at least partially responsible for the rise in autism. The drugs in question are those that inhibit the synthesis of sterols—in this case, cholesterol.

The medications include SSRIs, such as Fluoxetine; antipsychotics, such as haloperidol; beta blockers, such as metropole; statins, such as simvastatin; and others, including trazodone, bupropion, and buspirone.

The research, published in Molecular Psychiatry, is based on a study of more than six million pregnancies spanning all fifty states over ten years. Roughly 11 percent of pregnant women studied were prescribed at least one of these drugs. The researchers found 234,971 children with an autism diagnosis.

The article states, “Cholesterol is essential for life, serving as a critical structural component of all cells.…Cholesterol biosynthesis is particularly critical during intrauterine development in all vertebrates.” (Our brains are the most cholesterol-rich organs in our bodies.)

Other studies have shown that “maternal inflammation” contributes to the rise in autism. For example, scientists have found that a mother who is diagnosed with asthma or allergies during the second trimester more than doubles the unborn child’s risk of autism. Other studies have shown that mothers of autistic children tended to have more autoimmune disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis and celiac disease. The idea is that the mother’s inadequately controlled inflammatory responses can predispose autism in the child. (The spinal fluid of autistic people has shown elevated markers of inflammation.)  

These statistics are alarming. One scientist notes that “Something environmental is causing the rise.” But what?

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Body awareness: your sixth sense

The term for this is proprioception—your sense of where your body is in space. Neurons embedded in your muscles, joints, and tendons sense when these body parts are stretching, bending, or rotating. This information travels to your brain, helping you with coordination.

I read a book about a man who, following a bout of flu, lost his sense of proprioception. He had to depend on his eyes to determine what his body was doing. In a dark room, or with his eyes closed, he’d fall over.

Your body awareness naturally declines with age, increasing your risk of falling. Moving your body helps to keep your proprioception in tune. The less you move, the more your body awareness deteriorates.

To test your upper body proprioception, stand in front of a mirror, close your eyes and try to raise both arms to shoulder height, parallel to the floor. Once you think you’re positioned like an uppercase “T,” open your eyes and note how far your arms are from where you expected. If you’re off by a few inches, you can improve your awareness with exercises (see below). If you’re off by eight or more inches, it might indicate a neurological condition, such as Parkinson’s disease.

To test your lower body proprioception, with your eyes open and both arms crossed over your chest, see how long you can keep your balance while standing on one leg. Repeat the exercise with your eyes closed. Do the same test with your other leg. Healthy adults under 50 should be able to balance for 40 seconds with both eyes open, and for seven seconds with both eyes closed. By the time you reach your 70s, those numbers drop to 15 and two seconds, respectively.

You can improve your body awareness by practicing standing on one leg, performing Tai Chi exercises, walking on uneven surfaces, and walking heel to toe.

I tried the first test and nailed it. I failed the second one, but then I’m nearly 90.

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Delusional infestations

I’d never heard of such a thing until recently, when I was drawn to an article about it in The New York Times. Delusional infestation is the belief that you’re being infested by insects or parasites. It’s a complicated and rare phenomenon, but sufferers may go to extreme lengths to try curing themselves. One respected cancer researcher believed that insects were burrowing under his skin. He tried medications, exterminators, and even soaking himself in a bathtub of insecticide.

The point of the article had to do with people’s frustrations at not getting a diagnosis for their symptoms—such as brain fog or fatigue—when there are no visible signs of illness. They're left feeling frustrated and dismissed.

People who suffer from delusional infestations do, in fact, have something wrong with them. The causes might be an autoimmune disease, allergy, nerve damage, a thyroid condition, or drug side effects, all of which can produce an itching or even crawling sensation. Because of their frustration with the revolving door of health care providers, many of these sufferers have turned to entomologists for help.   

Starting in the early 2000s, one entomologist began seeing people who were convinced that bugs were inside their bodies. At first, there were one or two such people a year. In 2025, she received 1,610 inquiries from sufferers. Some people who come to her office have mutilated themselves to extract the phantom parasites. (For one thing, the entomologist explains that bugs need air to breathe and thus cannot burrow under the skin.)

If you have unbearable itching, I wish you good luck at getting a correct diagnosis. You can assume it’s not bugs burrowing into your body.

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Your thymus gland

Scientific American recently published new research indicating that the health of our thymus glands may be linked to whether we develop cardiovascular disease, lung cancer, or other life-shortening diseases. As remarked by one researcher, it’s an “important puzzle piece” for understanding long-term health.

The thymus gland sits inside your chest next to your heart and lungs. It’s most active before and during puberty, at which time it’s largely responsible for developing T cells, a critical type of white blood cell that helps fight infections. Because it shrinks and is replaced with fat tissue as we age, its role in adults has been overlooked for years.

In their research, scientists found “enormous variation” in the health of the thymus among the 27,000 people whose CT scans and other medical records they studied. In some, the gland stayed active until a very old age; in others it declined rapidly at a younger age. In other words, people with a healthy, active thymus tended to live longer than others. Unfortunately, the article didn’t explain what constitutes a “healthy” or “active” thymus or how to make it that way.

I remembered reading something about the thymus gland in a book called Your Body Doesn’t Lie, by John Diamond, MD, published in 1979 [!]. I found it on my bookshelf! Doctor Diamond calls the thymus gland the “master controller that directs the life-giving and healing energies of the body,” and that it’s the “first organ of the body to be affected by stress.” His advice for stimulating the thymus gland is to gently tap or pound the center of your chest for 15-30 seconds using your fingertips or soft fist. Do this three or four times a day. Also, he recommends smiling a lot, reading poetry, and listening to “revitalizing” music.

I know. It sounds goofy. It’s the best I could do.

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