Autism, ALS, and AFM (acute flaccid myelitis) have something in common—abnormal proteins have been found in the patients’ CSF. One study noted an inability to identify markers of disease in the blood, which had been found in the CSF. Researchers identified an enterovirus in children with AFM, and have suspected enteroviruses in other neurologic diseases; however, enteroviruses are common among children, and few develop one of these diseases. An enterovirus alone does not explain why some children and adults develop severe disease.
Another pathogen and/or infected immune cells likely provide a portal for an enterovirus to enter the CSF. It will be necessary to obtain a more detailed medical history, of all prior infections and treatments, and exposure to animals; and developing and using more accurate diagnostic methods for viruses and immortal bacteria, in the CSF and blood, to determine the causes of these diseases.
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