• Science helps validate special diets for Autism, hope may be right in parents' hands.
• Nourishing Hope
• Integrating Behavioral and Biomedical Approaches - Carr & Herbert
• Do Toxins Cause Autism?

Consider a teenage boy with autism who has undiagnosed GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease). At various times throughout the day, he experiences relentless burning in his throat, painful bloating and a foul acid taste in his mouth. During these episodes, his teacher, unaware of the GERD symptoms, continues to use ABA strategies to teach academic and social skills. These strategies, normally effective, now inexplicably set off bouts of self-injury and aggression. New ABA strategies are added to manage the behavior. These fail.

Therefore, the young man is given the drug Risperidone to control the behavior. The drug also fails. When his parents are interviewed, they note that over the past year their normally cheerful and outgoing son has become increasingly moody and reclusive. He often has difficulty sustaining attention and completing tasks. He has become needier and more demanding, more disruptive of family routines. Family quality of life has sunk to a low level...

excerpted from Integrating Behavioral and Biomedical Approaches - A Marriage Made In Heaven
By Edward G. Carr, Ph.D., and Martha R. He rbe rt, M.d., Ph.D.

New Pediatrics Report Urges Medical Community to Address Underlying Pathologies in Patients With Autism

Mo., Jan. 4 An article published today in the journal  Pediatrics  confirms what parents and advocacy organizations have been saying for years: many individuals with autism suffer from gastrointestinal disease that can contribute to behaviors and symptoms associated with autism.

Evaluation, Diagnosis, and Treatment of Gastrointestinal Disorders in Individuals With ASDs: A Consensus Report  is the result of expert panel study and discussion led by Dr. Timothy Buie of the Harvard Medical School Department of Pediatrics. The panel's findings point out not only the existence of underlying GI disturbances that can manifest as behavioral problems, but also notes that such medical issues have often gone undiagnosed or been ignored in the past by physicians treating patients diagnosed with autism.

"We are finally getting mainstream acknowledgement that our kids are physically sick, "  commented Lori McIlwain, National Autism Association (NAA) board chair. "With one in 110 children now diagnosed with autism, we are in the midst of a national health emergency. Physicians must address the underlying medical conditions involved in this epidemic if they are to help us find answers and relief for our children."

The panel arrived at several conclusions regarding current clinical practice guidelines and made recommendations for future medical and research priorities. These include:

• Current treatment guidelines do not routinely consider potential medical problems
• Problem behaviors including self-injury, aggression, irritability, and sleep disturbance may be manifestations of abdominal pain
• Behavioral treatment should not substitute for medical treatment
• Gastrointestinal symptoms should be considered an urgent indication for medical investigation
• Immunologic dysfunction, inflammation, metabolic dysfunction, and allergies are all potentially associated with autism
• Research is needed to determine the role of abnormal GI permeability in neuropsychiatric manifestations of autism
• Greater awareness is needed among health care providers of the atypical manifestations of GI disorders
• Awareness of unrecognized medical conditions in autism must become a priority of professional societies including the American Academy of Pediatrics
• Diagnostics should be performed to accurately identify co-morbid allergic disease
• Research is needed to determine the role of immune dysfunction in autism

"This is definitely a step in the right direction," said Ms. McIlwain. "Our kids need and deserve clinical investigation and treatment for the underlying medical conditions from which they suffer."

Diet And Autism Research Focuses On Which Foods May Affect Autistic Behavior

ScienceDaily (Aug. 9, 2008)

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080807175440.htm

Researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston have embarked on one of the first double-blind, clinical studies to determine whether gluten and dairy products play a role in autistic behavior as parents have anecdotally claimed.

The pilot study is one of seven current studies on autism in the Department of Pediatrics and the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston.

"There's a lot of misinformation, so that's why this study is so important," said Fernando Navarro, M.D., assistant professor of pediatrics at the medical school and lead investigator of the study. "Hundreds and hundreds of parents think this works but we need serious evidence."

Autism is a complex neurobehavioral disorder linked to early abnormalities of brain development. According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, it affects up to six of every 1,000 children and is characterized by impaired social interaction, problems with verbal and nonverbal communication and unusual, repetitive or severely limited activities and interests.

Researchers have discovered that there are differences in the central nervous system's anatomy and function in those diagnosed with autism, but the cause of the disorder is unknown. Experts theorize it may be a combination of genetics and environment.

"A lot of children with autism have gastrointestinal problems such as constipation and diarrhea. Whether these problems are related to brain development is open to question," said Katherine Loveland, Ph.D., co-investigator and professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, pediatrics and biomedical sciences at the health science center. "There are neurotransmitters and neuroreceptors in the gut that correspond with those in the brain. There are some scientific reasons to think that some kids may benefit from this diet."

For the double-blind study, funded in its initial phase by supplemental funds granted by the Department of Pediatrics, researchers will enroll 38 autistic children ages 3 to 9. They will look at the influence of gluten and milk proteins in the intestinal function. Gluten is a protein in wheat; casein and whey are proteins in milk. Casomorphin, a peptide in milk; and gliadomorphin, a peptide in gluten, are thought to be related to changes in behavior in these children. Children will be taken off gluten and dairy products before the four-week study and then half will be given gluten/milk powder and half will be given a placebo powder.

Researchers will study intestinal permeability (leaky gut) through urine collection and behavior through psychometric testing.

Co-investigators for the study are J. Marc Rhoads, M.D., professor and director of gastroenterology at the medical school, and Deborah A. Pearson, Ph.D., professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences.

Children will be enrolled through the UT Physicians pediatric gastroenterology clinic and The University of Texas Mental Sciences Institute. Navarro and Rhoads are attending physicians at Memorial Hermann hospitals. For more information on the study, call 713-500-5669.

Adapted from materials provided by University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.

Evidence of Mitochondrial Dysfunction in Autism and Implications for Treatment

Daniel A. Rossignol and J. Jeffrey Bradstreet
Am J of Biochem Biotech 4(2): 208-217, 2008
http://www.scipub.org/fulltext/ajbb/ajbb42208-217.pdf

Classical mitochondrial diseases occur in a subset of individuals with autism and are usually caused by genetic anomalies or mitochondrial respiratory pathway deficits. However, in many cases of autism, there is evidence of mitochondrial dysfunction (MtD) without the classic features associated with mitochondrial disease. MtD appears to be more common in autism and presents with less severe signs and symptoms. It is not associated with discernable mitochondrial pathology in muscle biopsy specimens despite objective evidence of lowered mitochondrial functioning. Exposure to environ-mental toxins is the likely etiology for MtD in autism. This dysfunction then contributes to a number of diagnostic symptoms and comorbidities observed in autism including: cognitive impairment, language deficits, abnormal energy metabolism, chronic gastrointestinal problems, abnormalities in fatty acid oxidation, and increased oxidative stress. MtD and oxidative stress may also explain the high male to female ratio found in autism due to increased male vulnerability to these dysfunctions. Biomarkers for mitochondrial dysfunction have been identified, but seem widely under-utilized despite available therapeutic interventions. Nutritional supplementation to decrease oxidative stress along with factors to improve reduced glutathione, as well as hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) represent supported and rationale approaches. The underlying pathophysiology and autistic symptoms of affected individuals would be expected to either improve or cease worsening once effective treatment for MtD is implemented.

1. Mitochondria and Pollutants including Thimerosal
2. Air Pollution and Mitochondria
3. Antibiotics and Mitochondria
4. Pollutants and autism