Back in 2008 when our son was diagnosed with severe autism, our first question was why? We have been on the autism quest ever since. This post looks at the subtle biochemical markers that can indicate very significant metabolic dysfunction and neurodegeneration. In our case, we have tracked low uric acid levels for years. Only now is the significance of this data being revealed. It indicates problems in the purinergic system now being researched in relation to autism by Robert Naviaux at the University of California.
My point exactly. I see Autism not as a disease per se, but as a group of symptoms that cluster around certain behaviours. This might help explain some but probably not all of the rise in numbers due simply to better recognition. My son for example does not stim at all, but does engage in repetitive and ritual behaviours such as tidying rooms and objects, and insisting on everything being in the right place. He dislikes strong stimuli such as loud noises but copes quite well with them - expressing annoyance rather than over-reacting.
Hence the expression, when you've met a child with
Autism, you've met one child with autism.
I have taught two children with ASD diagnoses and knew another well. With one (girl) I could see almost no overlap in symptoms at all.
The uric acid rings a bell though.
One had not had MMR or ultrasound scans in the womb.
I have wondered whether modern chemically induced births, which can trigger extremely rapid birth with the baby's head repeatedly banged, might cause concussive brain damage in a minority. Some supportive evidence in the literature and there seems an overlap in their introduction and asd rise.
My son, now 30, was born with Down Syndrome, and his journey to Autism is not uncommon with children with DS. He also has low thyroid function and developed Diabetes T1 in his early 20's.
I'm saying this because there are probably multiple causative variables involved and not one single, simple cause.
He currently functions rather well as it happens, went to mainstream school, can write and read , has good self-care and personal hygiene, and has an excellent memory of people and all his favourite movies and TV shows. However his sleep is very disturbed, staying up very late and sleeping till mid-afternoon most days.
nice research, Jane. I'll have to dig into this in more detail when I have more time. I will definitely share this article in my treatment group and pass along any comments. I know that uric acid metabolism is something my mentor has looked at in the past, especially in relation to biomarkers in a typical OAT urine lab. (organic acids test). she is actually quite the expert in interpreting them.
it is beyond sickening that medical doctors that DARE to help our kids, somehow 'get in trouble'. same crap happening for the past 20 yrs over here. we have been forced to form our own networks with independent medical practitioners. our integrative internist has been 'investigated' a few times, even had to testify in divorce court when the divorcing father questioned the expensive of a child's treatment. I'll never forget her being asked by opposing lawyer (in my mentor's divorce!), why all her patients have labs that come back positive for heavy metal toxicity. her brilliant answer: no different than all the patient's at the oncologists' having cancer. Bam.
the general pubic has been so brainwashed into the belief that our bodies systems' somehow function in isolation of each other. ideas like gut health effecting brain function are slowly making their way to the collective info set but still... the doctors successfully treating the many ailments of autism continue to be 'fringe' or 'quacks', regardless of the staggering amount of published medical literature backing up their approaches. is this starting to change? I hope so but I will not hold my breath. we will power on regardless.
Jane, Thank you for taking the time to write up this informative summary. Your experience mirrors that of many people.
Thanks especially for highlighting the work of Bob Naviaux (professor at UCSD). He is one of the great pioneers in the science of the biological mechanisms that underly autism. He's ben writing and talking about Cell Danger Response (CDR), purinergic signaling and treatment with Suramin for many years.
Bob Naviaux is the person who first suggested to me that we should make autism be like PKU (phenylketonuria). PKU causes serious intellectual disability and it's caused by the combination of an identified genetic mutation and phenylalanine in the diet. We prevent the symptoms of PKU by avoiding phenylalanine in the diet. This is a great example of a disease that appears to be both 100% genetic and 100% environmental. The causes add up to 200%, not 100%! That's a basic flaw in much science writing.
Similar logic applies to ALD (Adrenoleukodystrophy).
The solutions to both PKU and ALD were identified by parents!
Autism does not have an identified causal gene except in rare cases, so a genetic test is never going to be simple. And, we don't yet know what environmental exposures — not necessarily toxic — need to be avoided to avoid the worst symptoms.
It would help if we converted autism into a set of diseases. They would become conditions where we know the biological mechanisms that cause the symptoms. It does not mean "problem." Some autisms are already a huge problem and others are hardly a problem at all. We should focus on the big problems, figuring out the biological mechanisms. That work is not a priority by government agencies or big charities. They never give clear reasons. Apparently one reason is denial that autism is even a problem that merits finding solutions.
Great comment thanks Alexander. We need to follow what Prof Naviaux is doing to share with parents and practitioners when there are some concrete results.
It is likely that autism is an umbrella diagnosis for different conditions with different causes.
My point exactly. I see Autism not as a disease per se, but as a group of symptoms that cluster around certain behaviours. This might help explain some but probably not all of the rise in numbers due simply to better recognition. My son for example does not stim at all, but does engage in repetitive and ritual behaviours such as tidying rooms and objects, and insisting on everything being in the right place. He dislikes strong stimuli such as loud noises but copes quite well with them - expressing annoyance rather than over-reacting.
Hence the expression, when you've met a child with
Autism, you've met one child with autism.
I have taught two children with ASD diagnoses and knew another well. With one (girl) I could see almost no overlap in symptoms at all.
The uric acid rings a bell though.
One had not had MMR or ultrasound scans in the womb.
I have wondered whether modern chemically induced births, which can trigger extremely rapid birth with the baby's head repeatedly banged, might cause concussive brain damage in a minority. Some supportive evidence in the literature and there seems an overlap in their introduction and asd rise.
In the literature.
Whatever the many causes - my instinct is
My son, now 30, was born with Down Syndrome, and his journey to Autism is not uncommon with children with DS. He also has low thyroid function and developed Diabetes T1 in his early 20's.
I'm saying this because there are probably multiple causative variables involved and not one single, simple cause.
He currently functions rather well as it happens, went to mainstream school, can write and read , has good self-care and personal hygiene, and has an excellent memory of people and all his favourite movies and TV shows. However his sleep is very disturbed, staying up very late and sleeping till mid-afternoon most days.
nice research, Jane. I'll have to dig into this in more detail when I have more time. I will definitely share this article in my treatment group and pass along any comments. I know that uric acid metabolism is something my mentor has looked at in the past, especially in relation to biomarkers in a typical OAT urine lab. (organic acids test). she is actually quite the expert in interpreting them.
it is beyond sickening that medical doctors that DARE to help our kids, somehow 'get in trouble'. same crap happening for the past 20 yrs over here. we have been forced to form our own networks with independent medical practitioners. our integrative internist has been 'investigated' a few times, even had to testify in divorce court when the divorcing father questioned the expensive of a child's treatment. I'll never forget her being asked by opposing lawyer (in my mentor's divorce!), why all her patients have labs that come back positive for heavy metal toxicity. her brilliant answer: no different than all the patient's at the oncologists' having cancer. Bam.
the general pubic has been so brainwashed into the belief that our bodies systems' somehow function in isolation of each other. ideas like gut health effecting brain function are slowly making their way to the collective info set but still... the doctors successfully treating the many ailments of autism continue to be 'fringe' or 'quacks', regardless of the staggering amount of published medical literature backing up their approaches. is this starting to change? I hope so but I will not hold my breath. we will power on regardless.
Jane, Thank you for taking the time to write up this informative summary. Your experience mirrors that of many people.
Thanks especially for highlighting the work of Bob Naviaux (professor at UCSD). He is one of the great pioneers in the science of the biological mechanisms that underly autism. He's ben writing and talking about Cell Danger Response (CDR), purinergic signaling and treatment with Suramin for many years.
Bob Naviaux is the person who first suggested to me that we should make autism be like PKU (phenylketonuria). PKU causes serious intellectual disability and it's caused by the combination of an identified genetic mutation and phenylalanine in the diet. We prevent the symptoms of PKU by avoiding phenylalanine in the diet. This is a great example of a disease that appears to be both 100% genetic and 100% environmental. The causes add up to 200%, not 100%! That's a basic flaw in much science writing.
Similar logic applies to ALD (Adrenoleukodystrophy).
The solutions to both PKU and ALD were identified by parents!
Autism does not have an identified causal gene except in rare cases, so a genetic test is never going to be simple. And, we don't yet know what environmental exposures — not necessarily toxic — need to be avoided to avoid the worst symptoms.
It would help if we converted autism into a set of diseases. They would become conditions where we know the biological mechanisms that cause the symptoms. It does not mean "problem." Some autisms are already a huge problem and others are hardly a problem at all. We should focus on the big problems, figuring out the biological mechanisms. That work is not a priority by government agencies or big charities. They never give clear reasons. Apparently one reason is denial that autism is even a problem that merits finding solutions.
Great comment thanks Alexander. We need to follow what Prof Naviaux is doing to share with parents and practitioners when there are some concrete results.
... my instinct is that much of ASD is caused by modern medicine.
Though changes in modern lifestyles, for example the move of women into offices and lowered D as a result could be contributing.
Whatever the many causes are they are so omnipresent in modern Western life we can't recognise them.