New Autism Cure - breakthrough treatments and cures for autism

Last week, I blogged about a report in Scientific American Magazine linking Vitamin D deficiency with Autism because of the rising number of autism cases in two communities of Somali immigrants who had moved from their equatorial country, with plenty of sunshine, to northern latitude countries.

You can read the Scientific American Magazine report at http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=vitamin-d-and-autism and click here to read my blog post on it. This week, I have decided to dig a little deeper into the vitamin D theory.

Now, many people have pointed out that these Somali communities would also have faced other changes too, not just lack of sunlight. For example, their new environment may be more toxic (pollution and heavy metals), the vaccination program in their new countries may be different, their diet would have changed etc. So I’m not sure how this preliminary study was able to rule out these other factors and make vitamin D deficiency the missing link.

However, whatever we think about this report into vitamin D deficiency and the Somali communities, there are many scientists out there who do think that vitamin D is a factor that should not be dismissed and that needs to be taken seriously.

Vitamin D - Is it a Plausible Theory?

The Vitamin D Council is an organization run by John Jacob Cannell, MD, a doctor with a special interest in clinical nutrition, and it aims to educate and inform people about vitamin D to prevent vitamin D deficiency, and the illnesses and conditions which are caused by a deficiency.

Cannell points out that at the same time that we are experiencing a vitamin D deficiency epidemic, we are also in the midst of an autism epidemic - can the two be linked? Yes, Cannell believes that sun avoidance is the root cause of both epidemics. Although this is just a theory at the moment, and has not been proven, Cannell thinks that it is a plausible theory and would explain:-

• Why more boys suffer with autism than girls - This could be due to the different effects that the hormones, estrogen and testosterone, have on vitamin D metabolism.
• Why more black children have autism - People with darker skins synthesize vitamin D more slowly and so have increased vitamin D requirements.
• Why children with rickets show autism-like symptoms, including flabby muscle tone, developmental motor delays and decreased activity.
• Why children with autism have a higher incidence of infections, just like vitamin D deficient children.
• Why children with autism have a higher incidence of seizures - Vitamin D has been found to reduce the incidence of seizures.
• Why there seems to be a link between vaccines, heavy metals and autism - Vitamin D increases levels of glutathione which acts as a chelating (detoxifying) agent, helping rid the body of heavy metals and decreasing oxidative stress which can lead to tissue damage, including brain damage.
• Why there is evidence of autism rates being lower in equatorial countries - A study into the prevalence of autism in children born before 1985 (before people started to worry about sun exposure) by Dr William Grant of SUNARC (The Sunlight, Nutrition and Health Research Center) did show a strong link between the prevalence of autism and the latitudinal position of the country in which they were born.
• Why Alabama, the southernmost state in a study into autism prevalence, had the lowest prevalence of autism and why New Jersey, the second most northern state studied, had the highest prevalence.
• Why studies have shown that children born in winter months have a higher prevalence of autism - March, when vitamin D levels have shown to be their lowest, is the worst month of birth for autism prevalence.
• Why some parents notice improvements in autism symptoms in summer.
• Why multivitamins have been found to improve brain functioning.

The Vitamin D/Brain Connection

More and more scientists are concluding that vitamin D is needed for brain development. From his research into vitamin D’s role, Professor John McGrath, from Australia’s University of Queensland, concluded that vitamin D is “the neglected neurosteroid” and that it is crucial for proper brain growth and development in an unborn baby.

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In the past few weeks, there have been a couple of reports about Vitamin D in “Scientific American” magazine which both have bearings on autism.

Vitamin D Deficiency Affects the US

The first report was about how Vitamin D deficiency is soaring in the US, according to a study published in the “Archives of Internal Medicine”. The study claimed that a whopping three quarters of US teens and adults have a deficiency of vitamin D - that’s quite an incredible figure and makes you wonder why.

The study’s author, Adit Ginde, from the University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine, puts this vitamin D deficiency down to skin cancer prevention measures such as wearing long sleeves and using sunscreen ( sun protection of just factor 15 can cut the skin’s ability to manufacture vitamin D by 99%) and points out that there are actually very few dietary sources of vitamin D. Vitamin D is known as the “sunshine vitamin” because the skin produces vitamin D when it is exposed to the sun. By protecting ourselves from sun exposure, to reduce our risk of melanoma, we are cutting our levels of vitamin D.

Is There a Link between Lack of Sun and Autism?

But what has all this got to do with autism? Doesn’t a vitamin D deficiency lead to bone problems, such as rickets, osteoporosis and arthritis, not autism?

Well, yes, but experts are now wondering if a growth in vitamin D deficiencies has got something to do with the growth in autism. This theory is the result of two preliminary studies in Minnesota and Sweden, and the findings of these studies are discussed in the second article in “Scientific American” magazine.

Both Sweden and Minnesota have large Somali immigrant communities who seem to be overrepresented in the total number of children with autism in each area. In Minnesota, Somali families began arriving in 1993 and the number of children with autism in their community has jumped from 0 out of 1,773 in 1993, to 43 out of 2,029 in 2007. In Sweden, records of Somali children born in Stockholm between 1988 and 1998 have been studied and researchers concluded that Somali children in Stockholm were 3-4 times more likely to suffer with autism than non-Somali children in the city.

The Somali communities in both cities just can’t understand it. In Stockholm, the Somali people call autism “The Swedish Disease” because they had never seen it in Somalia, and Huda Fara, a Somali molecular biologist working in Minnesota, says “We never saw such a disease in Somalia. We do not even have a word for it.”

So why is autism hitting the Somali community so badly?

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Taking a child to the cinema is something that most parents take for granted. OK, so you might have fidgeting, excited chatting or even crying (if the film is a bit scary or sad), but generally taking kids to the movies is a breeze. But it’s not so easy if you’re the parent of a sensory sensitive child.

The Problem

The whole movie experience can be completely overwhelming for a sensory sensitive child - just think of the things that they have to face:-

• The theater suddenly becoming dark
• Sudden loud noises which are amplified by surround sound systems
• Fast moving images on a huge screen
• Lots of people in a confined space

All this can be just too much for the child and can result in tears, tantrums and fear. However, all is not lost and it is now possible for children who are sensory sensitive to enjoy the same movies that their peers are enjoying and talking about.

How?

The Solution

AMC Entertainment has collaborated with the Autism Society of America (ASA) to give children with special needs, and their families, the chance to see top movies through their “Sensory Friendly Films Program”.

The “Sensory Friendly Films Program” means that once a month, participating theaters all over the USA will do special showings of a top film in a “safe and accepting environment”. Features of these special showings include:-

• Film soundtrack turned down
• Theater lights brought up
• No previews or trailers before the movie
• Parents and carers can bring their own snack food - so children can enjoy GFCF snacks
• AMC’s usual silence policy will not be enforced - Children and adults will be free to talk, dance, sing, get up out of their seats and stretch their legs etc. without worrying about being a distraction to others.

This month’s movie is “Hannah Montana: The Movie” and it will be showing at participating theaters on April 18th at 10am local time. Click here to find your local participating theater and to get more details. Enjoy the movie!

In December 2007, the United Nations General Assembly resolved to make April 2nd of every year, starting 2008, World Autism Awareness Day (WAAD). The aim of this special day is to raise awareness of autism and to encourage support for families affected by autism.

There are over 67 million people affected by autism around the world and World Autism Awareness Day is a great day to do your bit to stand up for autism. You can read more about WAAD on the World Autism Awareness Day website but here are just some of the ways you can get involved:-

• Walk with Wubbzy on the Web - Walk to raise autism awareness and to raise funds. You can start your own team, join an existing team in your area, register as an individual walker or as a family. Registering on the website will give you access to a variety of fundraising tips and tools, as well as a downloadable Wubbzy coloring book for your children.
• Send  World Autism Awareness Day eCard - Spread the message by sending an eCard to friends, family and colleagues.
• Donate - Support Autism Speaks’ Walk Now for Autism by donating on the website.
• Purchase a World Autism Awareness Day Tee-shirt - A great way to spread the message and support the Autism Speaks charity.
• Attend a World Autism Awareness Day event - Click the link to find out about events in your country and area that you can get involved in or support.
• Join the Word Autism Awareness Day group on Facebook - Don’t forget to tell your Facebook friends and contacts too.
• Purchase a Lindt Gold Bunny - This Easter, Lindt are donating 10 cents to Autism Speaks for every chocolate gold bunny sold.
• Stand up for Autism - On 2 April, change your Facebook status to “I am standing up for autism” to spread the message.
• Tweet about it on Twitter - Follow World Autism Day on Twitter.
• See the UK’s National Autistic Society website page for more ideas like uploading video clips to YouTube and making your own special avatars.
• Canadians - Go to the World Autism Awareness Day Concert to be held at the Studio, Hamilton Place, Hamilton, Ontario, on 2 April. Click here for more details.

Get involved in any way you can and let’s spread the message about Autism!

We’re always told as children that “sticks and stone may break my bones, but words will never hurt me”, but it’s just not true is it? Sometimes, careless or deliberately hurtful words can hurt a person far more than a blow.

President Obama caused a stir on Friday with a careless comment that he made on Jay Leno’s “Tonight Show”. When talking about his bowling ability, he likened it to the Special Olympics. This was a careless throw-away remark, which I’m sure was meant as a harmless joke and with no malice intended, but a president needs to be more careful, particularly when he’s on air! I bet he was kicking himself afterwards. See the YouTube video below if you missed the comment:-

This one comment has had many websites and blogs discussing it, and many people are hurt and upset by it. We teach our children about the power of words, yet here is the President of the United States being careless with his. Many parents on blogs that I’ve visited are upset that the President raised a laugh in this way. Judith from Autismville says that she is:

“Hurt that the leader of our country would make people with disabilities, people like my son, a punchline.”

However, President Obama has apologized for his comment. Before the show was even aired, and while flying home from his appearance on Leno, President Obama called the Head of Special Olympics, Tim Shriver, to offer his apology for his remark. According to Mr Shriver:

“He [the President] expressed his disappointment and he apologized, in a way that was very moving”

Mr Shriver also commented that:

“It’s important to see that words hurt, and words do matter. And these words, that in some respect can be seen as humiliating or a put-down of people with special needs, do cause pain and they do result in stereotypes.”

Well said!

If you missed Tim Shriver on ABC’s “Good Morning America”, here he is:-

Final Comment

The President has apologized, Tim Shriver has accepted his apology on behalf of the Special Olympics and the President is obviously distressed by the situation, so perhaps we can move on and forgive the President for his mistake. Let’s remember that Obama’s administration have prioritized autism and are committed to funding research and supporting families.

Although we know, from anecdotal evidence and previous uncontrolled testing, that Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy can successfully treat autism, there has been no controlled test to back up these claims…until now!

Finally, a controlled clinical trial has proved that HBOT leads to improvements in autism spectrum disorders - hurray!

The Trial

“Hyperbaric treatment for children with autism: a multi-center, randomized, double-blind, controlled trial” a clinical trial carried out by Daniel A. Rossignol, Lanier W. Rossignol, Scott Smith, Cindy Schneider, Sally Logerquist, Anju Usman, Jim Neubrander, Eric M. Madren, Gregg Hintz, Barry Grushkin and Elizabeth A. Mumper, is the controlled trial that has got the autism world talking.

Rossignol, and his team from 6 different centers in the US, looked at a total of 62 children aged between 2 and 7 years, who were randomly split into two groups.

One group (the “treatment group”) underwent a program of 40 hours of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (1.3 atmosphere and 24% oxygen) and the second group (the “control group”) a program of 40 hours in a slightly pressurized room (1.03 atmosphere and 21% oxygen).

All of the children were assessed using various measures, including the Clinical Global Impression (CGI), the Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist (ATEC) and the Aberrant Behavior Checklist (ABC).

The Results

At the end of the program of treatment, children in the treatment group, who had received HBOT, showed significantly improved CGI, ABC and ATEC scores, when compared to the control group.

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On February 24th, on The Huffington Post site, Robert F. Kennedy Junior and David Kirby reported a ground-breaking court ruling concerning the MMR vaccine and autism.

Although the Washington federal Vaccine Court has recently ruled against three families who were claiming a link between the MMR vaccine, thimerosal and autism, the Court ruled differently in the case of Bailey Banks back in 2007, a case which has only just come to light.

The Bailey Banks Case

Back in June 2007, Special Master Richard Abell ruled that the parents of Bailey Banks, aged 10, had sufficiently demonstrated to the Vaccine Court that “the MMR vaccine at issue actually caused the conditions from which Bailey suffered and continues to suffer.”

The Vaccine Court awarded the Bailey family over $810,000 as a lump sum and between $30,000 and $40,000 per year for Bailey’s care, as compensation.

The Court ruled that the MMR vaccine had in fact caused the “acute brain damage” that was responsible for Bailey’s ASD. Special Master Abell ruled that the family had proven that the vaccine caused acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM), a brain inflammation illness, and that this led to PDD-NOS (Pervasive Developmental Disorder - Not Otherwise Specified).

On hearing all of the facts of the case, the Court agreed that Bailey’s ADEM was caused by the MMR vaccine and this his ADEM was serious enough to cause permanent brain damage and developmental delays which are classed as PDD-NOS.

In Robert F. Kennedy’s words:

“The Court found that Bailey would not have suffered this delay but for the administration of the MMR vaccine, and that this chain of causation was… a proximate sequence of cause and effect leading inexorably from vaccination to Pervasive Developmental Delay.”

Kennedy also points out that this is not an isolated ruling and that a CBS News investigation has found that 1,322 families have been awarded compensation by the Vaccine Court for brain damage caused by vaccines, since 1988.

But where does that leave families who are worried about the US vaccine program?

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