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Autism Treatment – Pandas, Probiotic Problems and Autism

autism — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 06:26:41 +0000

A phenomenon that I have seen with a number of kids on the Autism spectrum, some kids aren’t necessarily classically diagnosed with Autism but who have the characteristics of something called PANDAS which is a streptococcal infection where it is a condition in the body that is triggered by a streptococcal infection, specifically Group A Beta Hemolytic Strep where individuals develop obsessive compulsive behavior, sometimes tics, behavioral issues, weird and odd movements of the head or the eyes or side glancing, different manifestations like that usually come about after an infection, sometimes a sore throat. It can be a marked change in their behavior, social anxiety, anxiety in general and as I mentioned before very, very severe forms of obsessive compulsive disorder.

Now there are certain individuals on the Autism spectrum who have this characteristic and there are also other people who develop obsessive compulsive behavior and tics etc. who also have PANDAS who are not Autistic. One of the things that is interesting is in many of the supplements that people take, specifically probiotics, there is a specific bacteria called streptococcus thermophilus this is a natural bacteria and is essentially listed as a beneficial bacterial for the digestive system and for our overall health. You also find it in some yogurt products as well. Now it is reported that streptococcus thermophilus is entirely different than Group A Beta Hemolytic Strep as far as its protein structure, etc. and therefore should not be a contributing problem to the obsessive compulsive problems or the other manifestation of PANDAS. The problem is clinically I’ve not always seen that to be true. Which basically means in many kids that I have seen, whether they are on the spectrum or not, who have this problem just don’t seem to react very well to probiotics that have streptococcus thermophilus.

So the reason I am putting this video out here is just to inform you that if you have a suspicion that your child has PANDAS or is likely a problem, check their probiotics. See if the probiotics that they are taking have streptococcus thermophilus, if it does consider changing it out to a different probiotic. It doesn’t always fit but often times it does.

I had a situation a couple of years ago where a patient and a child actually who had PANDAS was successfully treated for it and was essentially in remission started a group of new supplements and all of a sudden started coming down with those PANDAS conditions again, anxiety, tics, obsessive behavior and so we went through a list of supplements and found out that there was a new probiotic that had been started. And the mom didn’t realize that the streptococcus thermophilus was an issue until we recognized that that was likely a contributing factor. Just stopping that one supplement alone, his PANDAS symptoms, his OCD, his anxiety disappeared. So I have seen that happen now with other kids and other people as well. So it is one of the things that I look at clinically is if streptococcus thermophilus is being used in a supplement, that is one thing I look to remove. So just a little FYI, I just wanted you to be aware of that.

Autism Treatment – Thyroid Evaluation and Autism

autism — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 06:06:13 +0000

The thyroid gland is an important gland in our body with respects to metabolism. It really helps with energy production throughout the body. Whether it is our immune system, our cardiovascular system including our heart, our lungs, our bones, our gut, our brain specifically and without good thyroid output we tend to run deficits in energy production. In many kids on the Autism spectrum we know that there are underlying medical problems which contribute to many of their issues. We know that research points to the fact that there are methylation chemistry problems which can affect attention and focusing, we know there are mitochondrial imbalances with can influence negatively metabolism throughout the body and energy production as well. We know that there can be immune system imbalances, digestive problems, etc.

One of the things that doesn’t get a lot of attention is thyroid imbalances. And the thyroid is often either not assessed or under assessed with respects to Autism. In patients with various mental health problems, depression, bipolar, etc., many times thyroid dysfunction is a contributing factor and often optimizing thyroid function helps to really improve the overall mental status and health status of patients. So I want you to be aware of the importance of thyroid function in Autism as something to just assess for your child’s overall health.

So if you are doing a blood chemistry test or any type of blood testing for your child, make sure that your doctor includes a thyroid panel and specifically what you want to look at is what’s called TSH, thyroid stimulating hormone, free T4, and free T3. Now these are important because the free fraction of those hormones, specifically the free T3 is what is acting physiologically at the cellular level. You can also add what is called a reverse T3 and if the body is producing a lot of reverse T3 it will actually inhibit thyroid function as well and often that goes missed. So TSH, free T4 and free T3.

Now personally I like to see the free T4 and the free T3 in the upper 2/3 of normal in its reference range. Often if they are low many times I will use natural thyroid such as Westhroid or Armour Thyroid etc. to try and replenish thyroid function. That is not something necessarily we do forever, but sometimes 6 months to a year just to see if we can re-establish thyroid function. And often times it helps with energy and brain function and cognitive function and even growth.

So again the thyroid is something important to assess and I recommend that any parent who is having their child be assessed by a physician with respects to blood work to make sure you include a thyroid panel, the TSH, the free T4 and the free T3. A couple other things that you could also add to that panel to rule out that an auto-immune process may be occurring is something called anti-TPO and an anti-thyroid globulin antibodies. If there are antibodies being produced to the thyroid gland then that indicates that there is some type of auto-immune process that is likely affecting the thyroid adversely so that would be really a complete thyroid panel. But minimally the TSH, the free T3 and the free T4 are critically important to look at.

Autism Treatment – Autism Research and Brain Inflammation

autism — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 05:51:53 +0000

In this video 1 of my 2 part series I will talk about brain inflammation and Autism. I’ve talked before about inflammation in the brain and what’s happening with respects to Autism, what we call neurological inflammation. And the advancing research that is emerging with respects to this important topic, there has been a lot of research projects in the past out of Johns Hopkins University and other research facilities showing that in Autism there tends to be a higher prevalence of neuro inflammatory markers likely affecting individuals on the Autism spectrum more adversely.

Well it turns out that there is a cell in the brain or a system in the brain called microglia. Microglia are part of the immune system function of the brain and the central nervous system. And in many individuals with Autism there appears to be what’s called microglia activation where the microglia become activated but don’t turn off. They can become activated from a virus, from a bacteria. They can become activated from a potential chemical reaction. There’s been some cases where it’s shown that certain vaccines may be a contributing factor to microglia activation.

When the system doesn’t turn off, it leads to chronic inflammation and essentially the destruction of what are called synapses. Synapses are the small spaces in between nerve cells where the neuro-chemicals are transferred from one nerve cell to the next as a communication link. So we get a chemical reaction across the synapse creating an electrical chemical reaction in the corresponding nerve cell. So anything that is going to affect the synapse will essentially affect chemical transportation from one brain region to the next and electrical impulse activation in the brain as well.

So there is just not one thing that causes microglia activation but it is something that should be on your radar. It is something to consider for your child on the Autism spectrum, something that may be a contributing factor to their overall condition. Whether your child had a vaccine reaction in the past that you felt happened, whether they had an infection at some point where things just never normalized or they’ve had chronic immune problems throughout their life whether it’s a lot of food sensitivities, gut problems, etc. You could be looking at the potential for microglia activation. And I will talk about ways to treat microglia activation in part 2 of this series.

Autism Treatment – Behavior Changes in Treating Autism

autism — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 03:03:06 +0000

I will continue to discuss things that can impact behavior in children with Autism in this second part of my 2 part series. Another thing to think about is when is the behavior issue occurring? Is it occurring before going to school or in the morning or happening when your child maybe gets home from school. Or is it happening at school or in the therapy sessions. Has there been some type of change occurring in their daily routine? I’ve often had kids who’ve had behavior problems because they’re in a classroom and a new child comes into the classroom that they either don’t like or they’re not getting along with or there is some type of conflict. A new therapist or a new teacher.

It can breakdown to something in their routine. Has there been some sort of change in their diet? Eating new foods or taking certain foods away that your child likes certainly can contribute to behavioral problems too. Have you added a new supplement? Often times I will see changes in behavior when new supplements are added. Often times people will add too many supplements at one time instead of spacing them out every two to three days introducing a new thing. Supplements sometimes can cause problems.

So you really have to be a detective of what is actually happening with your child and how long has that behavioral change been occurring, has it been over a couple days, a couple weeks and really try to piece together what may be going on. Because it is not always biomedical, it could be situational, like I mentioned it could be something at school or therapy, etc. So try and piece it together with respects to that. But hopefully this gives you some insight as to what to look for.

By the way, if it is something that might be tied to supplements, generally what I do is I will come back and say ok what supplements have you added since the behavioral change started? And then I will say why don’t you take those supplements out, take all of those supplements that were new, wait three to four to five days and see if the behavioral change shifts and then reintroduce those supplements one at a time maybe sometimes at half a dose and take it a little bit slower because just that change alone may be enough for your child to handle whatever new program you are putting them on.

Autism Treatment – Helicobacter pylori and Autism

autism — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 06:01:42 +0000

Let’s talk about something called Helicobacter pylori and Autism or H Pylori. H. Pylori is a bacteria that has been responsible for the development of stomach ulcers. Now we typically wouldn’t think of kids having problems with H Pylori or even ulcers but it does happen. We know that kids on the Autism spectrum seem to have a lot of gut problems. They have a lot of bacterial imbalances, they have a lot of yeast problems, many of them just have digestive problems in general. So they seem to have a greater susceptibility of these types of infections. Or at least they have a greater susceptibility of behavioral problems associated with these infections whether it is self stimulatory behavior that is driven by yeast, or aggressive behavior that is exacerbated by the presence of clostridia bacteria.

Helicobacter Pylori is also found in kids on the spectrum and what it typically tends to do is it tends to aggravate the stomach, alters stomach acid production which can affect digestive enzyme function in the small intestine. It leads to poor digestion, malabsorption, etc. Helicobacter Pylori can also be a trigger for food allergies or food sensitivities. It can also lead to stomach pain, it can lead to reflux, gastritis and just overall discomfort in the upper intestinal area, particularly after eating. A lot of kids will actually avoid meat because it is just hard to digest. We see that a lot in adults too they just don’t have a desire to eat meat. And that can be an indicator that Helicobacter Pylori may be a problem. So I want you to think about Helicobacter Pylori as another type of infection that may be affecting your child’s digestive system and affecting the way they digest food and in the next video I will actually talk about specific tests that can be done to help detect the presence of Helicobacter Pylori.

Autism Treatment – Using Methylation Chemistry for Autism Treatment

autism — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 01:46:04 +0000

Methylation is a vital biochemical reaction in the body that supports the cardiovascular, hormone, immune, and detoxification systems, DNA/RNA structure and function, and other key metabolic system controlling energy production. It is commonly a problem in many autistic-spectrum individuals. There are some effective therapies, namely methylcobolamin therapy (injection, oral, sublingual), as well as other methylation supplements such as DMG and TMG.

The two most referenced chemical reactions in this methylation system are Re-methylation and Trans-Sulfuration.

Re-Methylation (or methylation) – this pathway involves the conversion of Homocysteine to Methionine. Methionine is a rate-limiting step for the production of other necessary chemicals which affect the heart and blood vessels, muscle tissue, immune and nervous system. The conversion of homocysteine to methionine can occur by direct transference of a methyl (CH3) groups from Methylcobalamin (B12) or betaine (trimethylglycine or TMG).

Homocysteine sits at a junction of two different biochemical reactions. Because of its position in this biochemical matrix it has the capacity to impact all methylation and sulfur group transference metabolic processes in the body. The most recognized impact of homocysteine is associated with increased risk for cardiovascular disease. However, in individuals with autism its impact affects other functions as well particularly cognition including concentration, attention, and language.

Trans-Sulfuration – this pathway involves degrading homocysteine to two different amino acids – taurine and cysteine. Taurine is most commonly known for cardiac support and liver support, detoxification, bile acid formation and cholesterol excretion. Cysteine has direct influence on glutathione production. Glutathione is a potent anti-oxidant and has broad reaching effects on the DNA/RNA protection, heavy metal detoxification, and immune function. Many children on the autistic-spectrum have deficiencies of both taurine and cysteine.

There are many intermediary steps involved in these two important biochemical reactions. Envision a wheel that is constantly spinning in a clockwise fashion. Homocysteine is at 6 o’clock and Methionine is at 12 o’clock. The goal is to get from 6 o’clock to 12 o’clock, and then from 12 o’clock to 6 o’clock. This keeps the wheel spinning in the right direction. Certain other chemicals will impact upon this wheel at specific points. If any one of these intermediary steps is blocked than the wheel slows down or stops. This causes a backlog of chemical information that has deleterious effects on our overall health.

Methylcobolamin, activated Folic Acid (called methyl-folate), and Betaine (TMG) are responsible for taking homocysteine from 6 o’clock to methionine at 12 o’clock. If one system is faulty (methylcobolamin/Folic acid) than betaine (TMG) can help out. SAMe (s-adenosylmethionine) the body’s “universal methyl donor” helps take methionine from 12 o’clock to homocysteine at 6 o’clock. Along the way other important chemicals are being spun off in different directions to support the many dependent biochemical reactions in the body.

The problem with many autistic individuals is that this system does not operate properly severely compromising their immune, nervous, and detoxification systems. The impact can be enormous including increased chronic infections, inability to detoxify their body of chemicals and heavy metal toxins, and neuro-cognitive problems such as language processing, attention, focusing, and concentration. There appears to be a genetic component with many autistic individuals for having a problem with this methylation and trans-sulfuration chemisty. However, for many the problem does not become manifest until their system is negatively impacted upon from nutritional deficiencies, digestive problems from yeast, bacteria, parasites, malabsorption from digestive imbalances, heavy metal toxins from vaccines or environmental exposures.

Autism Treatment – How Music Therapy Helps In Treating Autism

autism — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 05:49:05 +0000

Musical therapy is gaining acceptance in the field of treatments for autism. Individuals on the autism-spectrum who receive music therapy will often have improvement in overall temperament and learning abilities. I recently saw a young boy who loved the Beatles. Hearing their music has helped with his behavior and willingness to communicate. Other individuals have responded in similar ways to other types of music. Music makes connections to the non-verbal part of our brain making it a perfect therapy for disorders in which the person has trouble communicating. This is why it is a perfect fit for autism.

Music therapy has been used in conjunction to help with learning skills. Classical music often playing in the background has been shown to help with mental processing for math and complex problems, but more importantly in autism music in general provides a non-threatening medium for people while playing games that help to improve social and behavior skills. For example, by encouraging eye contact while singing or using musical instruments that need to be held close to the face musical therapy can help autistic individuals break social barriers. In short, music is fun and engaging.

The main thing that music therapy has been shown to help with is the development of speech and communication skills. Music has the ability to connect the verbal and non-verbal functions in the brain. This is critical in autism as speech difficulties are so significant. In the beginning certain individuals may be only able to hum, grunt or make non-word noises while others will babble phrases of verses. The little boy who was a Beatles fan learned to pronounce the famous line “we all live in a Yellow Submarine…” Autistic individuals will often gain the capability to put phrases and sentences together in attempts to communicate with other people. No matter how skilled the individual is with speech, they can participate in musical therapy by clapping to the beat of the song, humming along, or doing simple echoing sounds. It doesn’t really matter just getting them involved in music can make powerful transformations.

Individuals on the autism spectrum are commonly found to be good at music. Some people have perfect pitch, while others may play a particular instrument very well. Even if they show no genius musical ability by common standards you may find that a particularly person has abilities in music that exceed his or her other abilities. A musical therapist can use music as a way to link this kind of learning with other kinds of learning skills such as communicating emotions or improving memory. Trained professionals can use music to teach children and others how to communicate in nonverbal ways, making it easier for patients to learn.

However, music doesn’t need to be reserved for a therapy or a classroom setting. Play music in the home and/or car as a way to introduce new sounds, instruments, and voices into the auditory world for an autistic individual. Break out those Beatles albums and you never know what might emerge for a person on the spectrum. They too may find their favorite Beatles song and learn to sign and communicate in a way they never have before.

AutismTreatment – Digestive, Allergy, and Behavioral Problems

autism — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 05:38:44 +0000

Ongoing digestive problems such as bloating, constipation, diarrhea, and reflux are often seen in clinical practice with individuals needing autism treatment. Recently, attention has been turned to an opportunistic intestinal infection called Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori). Dr. Amy Yasko has been looking at this bacteria as a contributing factor in autism, and I have seen over the years in certain autistic individuals that Helicobacter pylori is a causative or contributing factor in their persistent problems of food allergies and intestinal dysbiosis. So what is Helicobacter pylori?

H. pylori is a bacterial infection that invades the lining of the stomach and upper intestine. It is commonly associated with ulcer formation, and is a risk factor for stomach cancer. Typically symptoms of H. pylori manifest as pain and pressure in the stomach region, bloating, distention, and reflux disease (heartburn). In individuals on the autism-spectrum these issues may manifest as behavioral problems such as irritability, agitation or self-abusive behavior after eating, poor appetite, avoidance of eating meat, night waking with irritability and self-stimulatory behavior such as chest pounding. Periodically, bad breath not associated with gum disease, and bowel dysfunction such as diarrhea and/or constipation are present.

A common finding in someone dealing with this infection is the need for digestive enzymes and antacids. H. pylori can cause reduction of hydrochloric acid (HCL) production in the stomach leading to the inability to adequately digest food, especially protein. Antacids work by reducing the amount of organic acids that are released by partially digested food, as well as neutralize the stomachs production of HCL. Although there are many natural treatments for H. pylori, it is generally recommended that one use antibiotic protocols to eradicate this organism, while using natural supplements such as garlic, colostrum, mastic gum, and lactoferrin as adjunctive therapy. The use of Matula Tea also seems to have promise against this bacteria as well.

A common mistake with H. pylori testing is inadequate data collection. H. pylori blood testing can be misleading, and most of the medical literature still debates the most effective means of diagnosis. However, I have had good success with diagnosis based on clinical suspicion, patient history, and the use of specific antibody testing. Antibodies are specific immune chemicals that are produced against bacteria, viruses, and parasites. These antibodies are called immunoglobulins (Ig) – IgG, IgM, and IgA. Most medical doctors will only test for IgG against H. pylori sometimes missing the more subtle immune response of the other immunoglobulins. I like to perform all three to increase the yield of detection. I will also perform an H. pylori stool test from BioHealth Diagnostics Laboratory because in certain individuals the Ig blood testing is inconclusive. In children on the autism-spectrum where blood testing is too difficult simply doing the stool antigen test from BioHealth is often enough to detect the presence of the organism.

Helicobacter pylori eradication is an important component in improving overall digestive function as well as total body balance. The human body should always be viewed as a unification of body systems and interrelated physiological function. In autism treatment, this is critical. The traditional medical community needs to move past its archaic viewpoint that autism is purely a neurodevelopmental disorder, and better understand that medical conditions can often be at the root of an autism-spectrum person’s problems.

What Is Leaky Gut Syndrome and How Does It Relate to Treating Autism?

autism — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 02:12:24 +0000

Leaky gut syndrome is a phenomenon in which micro-particles, i.e. food fragments, viruses, bacteria and yeast proteins, and other bio-toxic material are leeched into the blood stream from a breakdown of the intestinal mucosal barrier. With respect to autism, leaky gut is thought to contribute to unwanted molecules (food, bacteria, yeast, etc.) permeating through the intestinal wall and cross-reacting with the immune system (leading to increased susceptibility for allergies) and the brain (leading to problems in cognitive function, language, and behavior), as well as leading to brain inflammation.

Leaky gut syndrome is detrimental for a person’s health because toxic substances which are normally bound in the fecal matter making its way through the digestive system for eventual elimination, now has access through a permeable mucosal membrane leading to physical stress throughout the body. For example, a food protein like gliadin (found in wheat) may trigger brain chemical reactions altering attention, mood, sleep and pain response. If the substance is from an intestinal pathogen such as a bacteria it can trigger immune reactions leading to autoimmune disorders. Autoimmune is the process of the body’s immune system attacking itself and it is known that various infectious proteins can trigger this response, i.e. bacterial toxins leading to reactive arthritis (formally called Reiter’s Syndrome) or PANDAS – a autoimmune post-streptococcal infection condition triggered by group A beta-hemolytic streptococcus.

What causes leaky gut syndrome is not entirely known. In autism, part of the issue could be gluten sensitivity. Gluten is a protein found in wheat that certain individuals have a difficult time digesting. With the inability to breakdown gluten in the gut an inflammatory reaction is created which weakens the gut wall. Inside the gut wall are millions of tiny cells that are responsible for absorbing nutrients from our diet, as well as releasing enzymes to help breakdown the food stuff in the gut. The spaces between cells are vulnerable through something called a tight junction. A tight junction is material that holds cells together. Think of it like mortar between bricks in a wall. If the mortar breaks down than overtime the bricks collapse and the wall falls over. The same thing can happen in the digestive system with the tight junctions breaking down and the space between cells becoming more “leaky.”

Other potential contributing factors to leaky gut are alcohol, caffeine, certain drugs like ibuprofen and diets high in carbohydrates. In autism, a diet called the Specific Carbohydrate Diet is used to eliminate the build-up of inflammation in the gut from hard to digest carbohydrates, i.e. corn, potatoes, rice. The results with this diet can be remarkable in helping autism-spectrum individuals improve their health and overall cognitive abilities. For parents with autistic children, as well as doctors and researchers looking at the role of leaky gut in autism, there is always more to understand with respects to causes and treatment. Simply understanding that leaky gut exists in autism is important and will help everyone involved in the care of an autistic individual better understand some of the reasons behind their health and cognitive challenges.

Biomedical Autism Treatment – Respen-A blended chord, Inositol and Autism part 2

autism — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 07:29:37 +0000

This is part 2 of the 2 part series on Respen-A blended chord and inositol. So inositol has been around for a long time and has been recommended in the past for OCD and anxiety. In some kids it works great, others it doesn’t work at all. And unfortunately it has been seen some kids who have reacted negatively to just the straight use of inositol. It probably likely has to do with the fact that its having an effect on glucose sugar metabolism in the brain and bolstering serotonin release. But up until recently, I mean we are talking the past couple of years, there wasn’t a lot known about how serotonin was metabolized in kids on the Autism spectrum.

We know now through the work of Elaine DeLack and the research through the Respen-A people that the Monoamine Oxidase A tends to be a problem area for many kids on the spectrum and therefore something like Respen-A has been a useful remedy to use, and I have seen that clinically in my practice as well. So just some information if you are looking to do the Respen-A blended chord it is now recommended that inositol be used along with it. And then if you want to find out more information specifically, obviously it comes with the Respen-A when the prescription comes from the dosing instructions. You can also access Respen-A on Facebook and I also have information on autismactionplan.com in the biomedical protocol section of that website. And I am of course available on an ongoing basis through the parent forum of autismactionplan.com to just answer your questions on a daily basis.

Autism Recovery Treatment » autism recovery treatment

Autism Treatment – Pandas, Probiotic Problems and Autism

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Autism Treatment – Thyroid Evaluation and Autism

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Autism Treatment – Autism Research and Brain Inflammation

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Autism Treatment – Helicobacter pylori and Autism

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Autism Treatment – Using Methylation Chemistry for Autism Treatment

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Biomedical Autism Treatment – Respen-A blended chord, Inositol and Autism part 2

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