{"id":46541,"date":"2025-04-25T01:53:06","date_gmt":"2025-04-25T08:53:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/?p=46541"},"modified":"2025-04-24T18:23:35","modified_gmt":"2025-04-25T01:23:35","slug":"productive-collaboration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2025\/04\/25\/productive-collaboration\/","title":{"rendered":"Productive collaboration"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Azrieli National Centre for Autism and Neurodevelopment Research team includes, left to right, Dr. Gal Meiri, Prof. Hava Golan, Prof. Ilan Dinstein, Mazal Malka and Prof. Idan Menashe. Dinstein and Menashe will be in Vancouver in May to meet with colleagues from the University of British Columbia. <\/i>(photo from azrielifoundation.org<\/a>)<\/i><\/p>\n

When the International Society for Autism Research convenes in Seattle April 30 for its annual conference, researchers from all over the world will be flying in to learn about and share the latest research on this multifactorial disorder. Two of them, Idan Menashe and Ilan Dinstein, who head up the Azrieli National Centre for Autism and Neurodevelopment Research (ANCAN) at Ben-Gurion University, will be coming from Israel. When the conference wraps up, they will be in Vancouver to continue a three-year collaboration with autism researchers at the University of British Columbia and Simon Fraser University, and meet with various people, including community members.<\/p>\n

Menashe and Dinstein were part of a group \u2013 that included Dr. Tim Oberlander from UBC\u2019s School of Population and Public Health and Grace Iarocci, director of SFU\u2019s Autism and Developmental Disabilities Laboratory \u2013 that published a paper in 2023 on whether oxytocin is associated with an increased risk of autism in offspring.<\/p>\n

\u201cOxytocin is a neuropeptide hormone that plays a key role in social behaviour, stress regulation and mental health,\u201d begins the paper\u2019s abstract. \u201cSynthetic oxytocin administration is a common obstetrical practice and, importantly, previous research has suggested that intrapartum exposure may increase the risk of neurodevelopmental disorders, such as autism spectrum disorder.\u201d<\/p>\n

The study supported the conclusion that \u201cinduction of labour through oxytocin administration does not increase the risk of autism spectrum disorder in the child.\u201d However, Menashe and Dinstein\u2019s own studies in Israel found an association between autism and the use of general anesthesia during caesarean sections.<\/p>\n

\u201cHaving a C-section with general anesthetic increases the risk of diagnoses of autism in offspring by 60% compared to natural birth,\u201d Menashe told the Independent<\/i>. Because general anesthesia in C-section is infrequently used, that risk is low, but consistent, he added.<\/p>\n

Menashe, Dinstein, Oberlander and Iarocci are excited to reunite in Vancouver in May because they all have access to population health data that allows them to compare their results. Such comparisons are especially valuable given that autism rates are increasing the world over.<\/p>\n

Menashe said the rate of autism is 2% in Israel and Canada, and more than 3% in the United States. \u201cWe know a big portion of this increase is due to increased awareness among parents and caregivers, but we don\u2019t know if that explains everything,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Autism is highly heterogeneous, he continued. \u201cEvery child is different and no two children present exactly the same autism symptoms. We believe the causes of autism are also very heterogeneous, and that\u2019s what makes research so complicated, but also so interesting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Because of that heterogeneity, research requires collection of data from large populations. At the Azrieli National Foundation for Autism Research, Menashe and Dinstein work with nine clinical centres to collect data.<\/p>\n

\u201cA major advantage we have in Israel is our access to families\u2019 medical records,\u201d Menashe explained. \u201cWe ask families from those clinics to participate in genetic studies, through which we try to identify the genetic causes of autism.\u201d<\/p>\n

Menashe, Dinstein, Oberlander and Iarocci meet monthly by Zoom to discuss their findings. By collaborating, the four researchers can compare Israeli findings to those in British Columbia.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe comparisons make our research more powerful,\u201d Iarocci said. \u201cThey allow us to see what\u2019s the same and what\u2019s different cross-culturally.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur goal with autism is early identification, early diagnosis, and offering interventions that are effective,\u201d she continued. \u201cWhen we collaborate, we can compare very large data sets and, without those comparisons, you can\u2019t really answer these questions meaningfully.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve had a very productive collaboration so far, and what makes it especially important is the cross-jurisdictional research we can do,\u201d Oberlander said. \u201cThere are few jurisdictions in the world that can do this effectively, but Israel and BC are two of them. It\u2019s a wonderful collaboration, a great model, and we\u2019re looking forward to seeing them in Vancouver in May.\u201d<\/p>\n

While here, Menashe and Dinstein will participate in an invite-only parlour meeting on May 4. Those interested in attending should contact David Berson, executive director, BGU Canada, British Columbia & Alberta, at davidberson@bengurion.ca<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Lauren Kramer<\/b>, an award-winning writer and editor, lives in Richmond<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Azrieli National Centre for Autism and Neurodevelopment Research team includes, left to right, Dr. Gal Meiri, Prof. Hava Golan, Prof. Ilan Dinstein, Mazal Malka and Prof. Idan Menashe. Dinstein and Menashe will be in Vancouver in May to meet with colleagues from the University of British Columbia. (photo from azrielifoundation.org) When the International Society […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":46543,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4329,4],"tags":[3680,1908,1910,24002,24000,9372,20681,2225,2092,4342,24001,3556,309],"class_list":["post-46541","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-israel","category-local","tag-autism","tag-ben-gurion-university","tag-bgu","tag-grace-iarocci","tag-idan-menashe","tag-ilan-dinstein","tag-research","tag-science","tag-sfu","tag-simon-fraser-university","tag-tim-oberlander","tag-ubc","tag-university-of-british-columbia"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46541","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46541"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46541\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46543"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46541"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46541"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46541"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}