Toxic factors and autism

Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder. Today it has observed a continuing and rapid increase in its prevalence. Autism increase, in combination with unknown factors that cause it, so far, has drawn the interest of several researchers (from different scientific fields). It could be characterized as a multiple-factors disorder. In recent decades, many researchers have implicated mainly environmental, chemical, genetic, hereditary, and biological factors. The present article focuses on environmental factors that their exposure causes irreversible brain damages (toxicity) - autism. Some of these factors are (mainly) mercury, brominated, thalidomide, misoprostol, valproic acid, chloropiryfos, ethanol etc. However, according to literature review, it has not been proved a direct correlation with the factors which have been implicated for autism disorder. As a result, the question “what causes autism” is still unanswered. Today, diagnostic criteria, early diagnosis, methods for autistic education and medication (under circumstances) are continuously improving

Keywords: Autism, autism spectrum disorder (A.S.D), environmental health, environmental exposure, toxic factors, toxicity