New Autism Cure - breakthrough treatments and cures for autism

Epilepsy is defined by the Epilepsy Foundation as ” a medical condition that produces seizures affecting a variety of mental and physical functions”.

Children and adults are diagnosed as epileptic when they have suffered two or more seizures. Epilepsy and seizures are linked to many disorders, including autism spectrum disorders, and research suggests that somewhere between 20% and 35% of people with autism also suffer from seizures, and this can be a real worry for parents whose child has just been diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder.

The Autism-Epilepsy Link

It is not known what the exact link is between autism and epilepsy, or seizures, but a study called “Autism and Epilepsy: Cause, consequence, comorbidity, or coincidence?” by Gabis, Pomeroy and Andriola in 2005, concluded that abnormal electroencephalograms (EEG scan of the brain) and epilepsy tended to occur at significantly higher rates in children with more severe autism, those who were in the more impaired range of the autism spectrum.

Another study, “An Investigation of Sleep Characteristics, EEG Abnormalities and Epilepsy in Developmentally Regressed and Non-regressed Children with Autism”,  published in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, concluded that abnormal EEGs and epilepsy were more common in children with regressive autism, rather than those who had shown symptoms from birth. Regressive autism is autism that occurs at around the age of 18 months after a child has been developing normally. All of a sudden the child regresses, losing skills like speech and other skills previously learned.

Parents should not assume that a diagnosis of an autism spectrum disorder means that a child will suffer with seizures because most autistic children do not have seizures. Those who are at a higher risk of seizures are children who have neurological conditions like tuberous sclerosis, neurofibromatosis or phenylketonuria that has been left untreated, or those with major cognitive impairment. Children who have suffered with infantile spasms, which are pronounced muscle contractions between the ages of 3 and 8 months, are also more at risk from autism combined with epilepsy.

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It was the Vaccine Court Poling Case that brought the possible link between Mitochondrial Disease out into the open in 2008. The Poling family won compensation, in the form of an out of court settlement, because they were able to convince people that their daughter Hannah’s autism was a result of nine vaccines that had been administered to her just 48 hours before Hannah developed the first signs and symptoms of autism.

Hannah Poling suffered from Mitochondrial Disease, or dysfunction, a disorder that she had inherited from her mother, and it is not known whether it was the vaccines alone that caused her autism or whether her mitochondrial disease had left her vulnerable to the vaccines triggering the autism. The Chief Science Officer of the charity “Autism Speaks” thinks that in cases like Hannah Poling, the vaccinations stimulate the immune system, putting stress on the functioning of the cells in of the body and exacerbating the symptoms of the Mitochondrial Disease that the child already has and triggering autism symptoms.

Mitochondrial Disease

Mitochondrial Disease is not just one disease, but is actually a collection of over 40 different disorders that affect the mitochondria. The mitochondria are the “powerhouse” organelles (subunits) of cells known as the eukaryote cells. The job of the mitochondria is to covert energy from food molecules into Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) which is needed to power cells and for metabolism.

Mitochondrial Disease has many different characteristics, depending on where the defective DNA has been distributed in the body, but symptoms can include:-

• Muscle weakness
• Heart problems
• Episodes similar to strokes
• Problems with co-ordination and motor skills
• Seizures
• Vomiting
• Developmental delays

Evidence Linking Autism and Mitochondrial Disease

As well as the Poling Case, a Portuguese Study has also suggested a link between autism spectrum disorders and Mitochondrial Disease. This study (”Mitochondrial Dysfunction in Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Population-based Study” 2005) looked at 69 autistic children and found that five of the group had mitochondrial abnormalities. A US Study by Dr John Shoffner backed this up by finding that about 20% of autism sufferers also have markers for mitochondrial disease.

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There are many articles online and books out there giving tips on how to encourage an autistic child to interact and socialize with other children and adults, but there’s not much advice out there on how people should actually go about interacting with an autistic child.

Here are some top tips to help you interact effectively with an autistic child or teenager:-

1. Don’t just see the autism - The disorder does not define who the child is, it’s just one part of their character and being. It’s so easy to get consumed by the autism but it’s not who they are, they are a child with their own unique character and gifts.
2. Have patience - You need stacks of patience to bring up any child, but an autistic child can require a lot more patience. You have to be willing to give them time to process your instructions, you have to be willing to repeat things, you need to accept that a simple change of circumstances can lead to a meltdown and you need to give them time to tell you what they need to, without assuming that you know what they need.
3. Look for clues - Sometimes an autistic child has limited vocabulary or can’t get get their needs or wishes into words. Look at their body language and gestures for clues. Could they be in pain? Are they likely to be hungry? Are they scared?
4. Put yourself in their shoes - If your child has sensory problems, try to imagine what the world is like for them. For example, if a child is hypersensitive then just imagine how it feels to be bombarded by strong smells, loud noises and bright lights, it must be so scary and hard to concentrate on other things.
5. Think about the language you use and the way you speak - Don’t show long instructions across the room, which may not be understood; instead go up to the child, get their attention and give clear, simple instructions. If your child has a tendency to take things literally, don’t use jokes, sarcasm, puns or phrases like “it’s raining cats and dogs” because they just won’t understand the “hidden” meaning.
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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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