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Thought the group might find this interesting:
Autism-antibiotic study sparks concern
July 18, 2000
Web posted at: 9:54 AM EDT (1354 GMT)
WASHINGTON (AP) -- First, parents clamored for the hormone secretin in hopes it would help their autistic children. Put to the test, however, secretin is proving disappointing.
Now a new theory is triggering desperate parents' interest -- and this time the stakes are higher because it could spur misuse of the nation's most precious antibiotic, vancomycin.
An Illinois mother persuaded scientists to try a bizarre-sounding experiment, testing whether vancomycin might help her son's severe autism. To their surprise, little Andrew Bolte got better.
Dr. Richard Sandler of Rush Children's Hospital in Chicago was skeptical of Ellen Bolte's theory that a neurotoxin-producing intestinal infection was behind some of her son's symptoms.
He administered the antibiotic anyway. Andrew "was not cured, but all of a sudden he started saying words, became toilet-trained," Sandler recalled. "I found that very intriguing. It's not supposed to happen."
So Sandler treated 11 autistic children who, like about a third of children with this serious brain disorder, also suffer painful gastrointestinal problems. Neuropsychological testing concluded that 10 children improved, he reports in this month's Journal of Child Neurology -- but only for a while.
And that's the problem: Andrew and the others worsened again after just a few months. Yet already parents are calling doctors about vancomycin. That's worrisome because overuse of vancomycin, considered the best weapon against the problem of antibiotic-resistant infections, will spur germs to become impervious to it.
"It is a danger," said Sandler, who has quit using vancomycin, calling it inappropriate until more research proves if it is a real clue or a false lead.
Another Chicagoan, Dr. Michael Chez, plans to compare vancomycin to a dummy drug this fall, important because simple attention during medical research markedly helps autistic children, the so-called "placebo effect." (Send an e-mail to rushstudy@aol.com for study information.)
Like other autism experts, Johns Hopkins University neurologist Dr. Andrew Zimmerman is bracing for families' calls. "It's heartbreaking, because you know they really want answers," yet the study is far too weak to back antibiotic use, he said.
Still, it's "provocative," Zimmerman said, because scientists are scrutinizing whether bowel problems are caused by or worsen autistic symptoms, or are a coincidental side effect of the terrible brain disorder.
More than 400,000 Americans have autism, characterized by profound social withdrawal, inability to communicate, repetitive behavior and sometimes aggression. No one knows what causes it, although much research suggests something goes wrong during critical fetal brain development.
Several thousand children have taken secretin, an intestinal hormone, after a mother said one dose brought her son out of autistic isolation. But in scientific studies, secretin so far has proved no better than a dummy injection.
Intense behavior therapy is autism's only proven treatment. But Andrew Bolte was so aggressive the therapy didn't stand a chance, his mother said. He screamed for hours. He even chewed drywall from the walls. Complicating matters were severe diarrhea and other gastrointestinal problems.
Bolte blames antibiotics prescribed for fluid in Andrew's ears shortly before he became autistic at 19 months. Her unproven theory: those drugs killed Andrew's normal gut-protective bacteria, allowing an intestinal infection that can produce nerve-killing toxins, which entered his brain. Vancomycin, she thought, could kill that infection.
Thirty-six doctors scoffed. After all, autism typically appears between ages 14 and 22 months, and no sufferers have ever been found with neurotoxic infections.
Sandler called it "highly improbable," too, but he tried because Andrew, by now 3, was miserable. Two months later, Andrew was "very calm," allowed Bolte to hug him and finally followed verbal commands.
Aggression and other symptoms soon returned. But Bolte believes vancomycin eased his bowel problem enough to open a window for behavior therapy, saying Andrew retained his language improvements.
Even she cautions against demanding vancomycin, however. Instead, she is raising money for bacterial research.
In Reply to: Autism posted by Derk on August 31, 2000 at 17:16:35:
Autism is definitely associated with severe bowel problems in almost all cases I know of. There appears to be LGS across the board here, as well as parasitic invasions of various sorts such as candida or anaerobic bacterial infections. It is the anaerobic bacteria that the vancomycin is getting to. I suspect this treatment may give temporary improvements but without addressing the underlying causes such as LGS, these improvements will be short-lived. Vancomycin is a powerful drug that can have serious side-effects.
I would be wary of doing this with my own son. Just as I was wary of secretin and chose to watch and wait...
In Reply to: Autism posted by Derk on August 31, 2000 at 17:16:35:
Thanks, Derk.
ALL of the new research discoveries (at least over the past 2 years) have been related to LGS--as we have been discussing on this BB for at least that long.
In the end, dealing with LGS will have to be at least a part of the approach. In the meantime it is like the 5 blind men and the elephant. The more of these little pieces are discovered, the quicker reasonable men will begin to see the entire elephant.
Namaste`
Walt
In Reply to: Autism posted by Derk on August 31, 2000 at 17:16:35:
Perhaps everyone is already aware of this, but just in case you haven't read it...
In Reply to: Re: Autism posted by KMD on August 31, 2000 at 17:35:53:
Please get testing done before trying these things. The Great Plains Laboratory is doing research on Autism and frankly in most cases it looks like it stems back to yeast and LGS. But from a laymen's point of view, working with these kids, how effective the treatments will be seems to depend on how much damage has already been done. I spoke to a new client family (I do respite) and her son has high concentrations of mercury in his system (Mom's a dentist), not due to fillings, he's too young, but they think due to his shots. I don't understand the technical but there's something to do with mercury in the vaccines. It appears a lot of things entering the brain can cause similar symptoms. I'm going to see Anabel Stehli's daughter, Georgiana speak soon, she's a "cured" autistic, but you see hers appears to be for the most part, sensory based. She had Auditory Integration Therapy and came out of the fog, went from functionally retarded to gifted. Her mother wrote the book "Sound of a Miracle". Autism is a little more complex and I don't know if they will find one cure fits all. Dr Stoll says treat the individual and I think that's the best advice here.
In Reply to: Autism cure... posted by Sherri McFerran on September 03, 2000 at 10:15:27:
Hi, Sherri.
Thanks for the reference. My only caution would be: ALL of the current research shows Autism to be a multifactorial condition that depends upon the genetic suscetibility of the individual which then allows a multitude of triggers to result in Autism.
SO, even the most effective of these approaches will only help a very small % of those with Autism. That does not make them wrong only that they only help those whose genetic susceptiblilty allowed that particular approach to be effective.
As soon as we have the tests to determine which susceptibilities the individual has, we will better be able to chose the environmental things to change. The most recent predictions are that that will be in about 20-30 years.
LGS seems to aggravate ALL of the environmental causes since the gut lining is what protects all of us from environmental stuff. We now know how to deal with most LGS so, until the above tests are available, one would be wise to deal with what we know.
Diet is one of the causes, immunizations are another, environmental pollutants can trigger this problem, certain genetic needs for more natural vitamin A are another, etc.
SO, I would be hesitant to call any one thing the "cure" for Autism.
Namaste`
Walt
In Reply to: Re: Autism posted by Reno on September 03, 2000 at 12:46:57:
I am the mother of a 5 yr old autistic boy- PDD-NOS. Diagnosed at about 23months, our son was totally in his own world-no language-he would have tantrums, pull his hair out and beat his head against the wall. We contacted our local MHMR and after having hearing, vision, and other tests done, we were told of his diagnosis and he began therapy with a MHMR rep. At age 3 he began attending public school early childhood classes where he began to speak more fluently.
Our son had broken a leg at about 26(jumping on the bed!!) and was in traction for 7 days before having a body cast put on--As much as I hated to see him suffering, I now know it was truly a God sent event. He had never spoken up to this point and while in traction, said his first words-momma and applesauce. From then, he has progressed continually.
Now, at the age of 5, our son is attending regular kindergarten classes with only an additional speech therapy class during his day. Intellectually, I feel him to be at about 3 1/2 to 4. Physically, he is above average in size and on target in motor skills. He speaks in complete sentences, though not as fluently as a "normal" child of 5; he is doing quite well.
I have long been of the opinion that the MMR vaccine was the cause of my son's autism, but had no proof.
Tonight we received a call from a friend who knew of another mother with an autistic child who was dealing with a doctor doing research and treatments for autistic children and this child was experiencing excellent results. This research involved the mercury or thermosal(sic) contents in the immunizations. The treatment is, from what I understand, dietary. Has anyone heard of this type of treatment for mercury toxicity? I had read that DMSA-cheaterin(sic) to flush the toxin from the body was the way this was done. I am very interested in this side to the immunization/autism connection and intend to have my son toxicity tested. Please contact me at forrester@glade.net if you have any info on this.
Thanks!!
In Reply to: Re: Autism posted by Deborah on September 13, 2000 at 02:39:24:
Deborah,
Have you read what is already available in the archives about autism?
Also, you might use the searcn engine for the things posted in the past 2 months not already in the archives.
Researchers are closing in on the causes of autism just within the past 2 years. You need to catch up.
THEN, if you have questions or comments, write again.
Walt
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