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The causes of autism are not yet known with certainty.Recent research suggests a link between geneticsusceptibility and environmental agents. Indeed, there isevidence that no one factor causes autism and thatperhaps there exists a synergy among several agents. Thisview is based upon the range of symptoms and severityamong those who are diagnosed as autistic. There has been an apparent rise in the occurrence of autism since about 1980, but the root cause has not beenfound. There is speculation that better diagnostictechniques have uncovered cases that would otherwisehave gone unrecognized.Research indicates tentatively that 90% of the autism caseshave a genetic link. A specific gene of interest is theEngrailed 2 (EN2) gene, which may account for 40% of autism cases. It is significant in normal neuraldevelopment. If the gene’s expression is disrupted in someway, it is believed that EN2 could impact significantly onnormal brain development. However, autism may becauses by the interaction and malfunction of more than onegene. The research is on-going.Additionally, in a study conducted in 2007, three commonfactors were found to be of interest: older maternal age,older paternal age, and birthplace of the mother outsideEurope or North America. The higher parental age maysuggest an issue with genetic material integrity.Alternatively, some rare cases of autism appear to berelated to environmental factors. In the past several years,there has been a great deal of controversy over theincidence of autism with relation to childhoodimmunizations. To-date, there is no strong statisticalcorrelation to support this proposal. The prenatal environment has come into focus as a possibleorigin, especially events taking place within the first eightweeks of gestation of the fetus. Although most infectiousdiseases appear not to be significant contributors toautism, the rubella virus may be a suspect. Exposure topesticides may have some effect, but the research is