A new peer-reviewed paper, based on a review of 519 studies, challenges the long-standing belief that autism is primarily a neurological condition stemming from a genetic brain disorder.

The authors, who include Children’s Health Defense (CHD) Chief Scientific Officer Brian Hooker, concluded that autism may arise from a far more dynamic — and potentially modifiable — set of biological drivers.

Those drivers include immune system disruption, environmental exposures and gut-brain physiology.

Instead of trying to locate autism solely in the genes or inside the brain, the authors suggest examining the entire constellation of immune, neurological, gastrointestinal, metabolic, and environmental influences that shape human development.

They called for precision medicine: personalized interventions informed by each individual’s unique mix of exposures, immune markers, microbiome composition, metabolic patterns and genetic sensitivities.

This could include nutritional and metabolic therapies, microbiome interventions, anti-inflammatory strategies and mind-body approaches aimed at rebalancing the body’s regulatory networks.

The paper, published Dec. 20 in Molecular Neurobiology, covers decades of research across the fields of immunology, toxicology, neurobiology and environmental health.

Written for a broad audience, the paper explains how autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is driven by — and affects — multiple body systems, including the immune, digestive and central nervous systems.

“This paper solidifies the immunological aspects of the etiology of autism and refutes any past notion that the disorder does not stem from neuroimmune activation and autoimmunity,” Hooker said. “It’s time to throw away old notions based on the lies of vaccine profiteers.”

Martha Herbert, M.D., Ph.D., one of the paper’s authors, told The Defender in an interview last year that a “whole-body” approach is imperative to understanding complex chronic illnesses such as autism.

Over $1 billion in research — and still no autistic’ gene identified

For years, the dominant narrative around autism has centered on genetics. Autism Speaks, the Simons Foundation and similar organizations have in the past 10 year invested over $1 billion in the search for a genetic basis for the disease.

But after decades of effort, researchers have failed to identify a genetic driver that can explain the rising prevalence of autism or the significantly different ways the disorder manifests itself in individuals, the authors of the new study said.

Studies on pairs of twins and population data increasingly suggest that genetics tells only part of the story.

According to the new paper, most autism research has overlooked a key player: the immune system. The authors detail a large and growing body of evidence showing chronic neuroinflammation — including abnormal activity in the brain’s immune and support cells — in people with autism.

They describe studies documenting shifts in inflammatory cytokines, changes in T-cell and B-cell activity, and autoantibodies that target brain tissue. Some evidence also points to maternal immune activation during pregnancy as a potential trigger that can shape neurodevelopment long before birth.

Understanding these dynamics, they argue, “gives us a platform for not only examining the role of the immune system in the etiology, pathogenesis, and pathophysiology of ASD but also understanding social and higher-level processes of consciousness for individuals on the spectrum.”

The publication comes as federal health agencies have begun to investigate the environmental drivers of the disease, including vaccines.

Autism emerges from cumulative environmental pressures

Rather than describe autism as the result of a single trigger, the review frames the condition as emerging from the cumulative pressure of environmental stressors — everything from heavy metals and industrial chemicals to pesticides, medications used in pregnancy, electromagnetic radiation and endocrine-disrupting compounds.

These exposures can overwhelm the body’s ability to maintain “allostasis” — the neurobiological adaptive balancing act that keeps biological systems stable — the authors said.

When too many stressors hit at once, especially during critical windows of development, the body’s allostatic systems can be overworked, pushing them to a “tipping point.” The body may cross a threshold that affects immune regulation, metabolism and brain development. That stress can compromise the body’s detoxification process and fuel chronic disease.

The authors highlight the gut’s role in autism, pointing out that children with autism often experience gastrointestinal problems. Researchers have found that disruptions in the gut microbiome correlate with severity of behavioral symptoms.

They explain that immune cells, nerves, microbes and metabolites constantly communicate along the “gut-brain axis.” When this system is disturbed, the consequences can extend far beyond digestion, affecting neurotransmitter production, immune responses and the blood-brain barrier.

This broader physiological perspective leads the authors to challenge some of the field’s assumptions about the autistic brain.

Differences seen in the brains of people with autism in MRI scans and post-mortem studies may not all be congenital or fixed, the authors said. Instead, they could indicate the downstream effects of inflammation, oxidative stress or metabolic dysfunction — processes that, in principle, can change over time. MRIs may offer just a snapshot of a person’s changing biology.

 

Time for a shift from ‘magic bullet’ paradigm to precision medicine

Autism treatment has been shaped by a “magic bullet” medical paradigm that seeks to manage symptoms with single-target drugs rather than address underlying biological complexity, according to the authors.

“Novel therapeutics to address core symptoms of ASD have been largely ignored by mainstream medicine and are desperately needed,” said Hooker. “Potential treatments necessitate neuroimmunological perspectives and a ‘whole body’ approach, integrated with personalized and precision nutrition and mind-body modalities.”

They also acknowledge the strengths, abilities and individuality of autistic people. Their argument is not that autism is a disease to be “fixed,” but that the biological challenges many autistic individuals experience deserve deeper scientific attention — and that understanding those challenges may open doors to better support, improved quality of life, and more tailored interventions.

Their message is that autism is not a single story told by DNA, but a complex interplay of biology and environment—and that story may be far more dynamic than we once thought.

They conclude that:

“Only once we understand that ASD is not genetically inevitable or a genetic tragedy but an environmental and physiological catastrophe, will we truly be able to grasp and address the root causes of the dramatic rise in its prevalence. …

“The point henceforward becomes not just to support and seek full recovery for those diagnosed with ASD, but also how we as individuals, families, communities, and society in the contemporary era can most effectively protect future generations.”