Research Chelation Therapy

If there is any good news, it is that researchers are taking seriously the impact of rising numbers of diagnosed cases of Autism.  Kaiser Permanente, a major medical organization, has joined an intensive 5-year study on children and families with autism studying the genetic and environmental factors associated with the disorder and the possible effective treatments for Austim.
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Kaiser Permanente joins 5-year examination

Researchers are launching the largest-ever U.S. study aimed at solving one of the most perplexing mysteries of modern times: the cause of autism.

The incurable disorder now strikes nearly one in 150 American children and shows no sign of letting up. California recently shattered a record by adding more than 1,000 new cases of autism to its regional center system in just three months.

The five-year, $5.9 million study by Kaiser Permanente and other organizations will explore genetic and environmental reasons for the rapid rise in diagnosed cases.

The prevailing opinion among scientists is that one or more environmental factors, linked with genetics, play a role in causing the disorder, said Lisa Croen, a Kaiser epidemiologist and the study’s principal investigator in California.

“What’s become very clear is that autism results from a combination of having a genetic predisposition or genetic susceptibility, plus the added extra exposures from environmental factors or other kinds of lifestyle factors,” Croen said.

Investigators will look at everything from family medical history to what happened during pregnancy, medications the mother took, a child’s vaccination history, and whether the parents’ occupations or home locations exposed them to harmful substances.

Also included will be such lifestyle issues as whether the mother smoked.

“We’re looking for factors that might be associated with predicting these conditions,” Croen said. “Once we identify factors, if these findings are replicated in other scientifically valid studies, then you can start building intervention strategies and prevention strategies.”Families in Alameda and Santa Clara counties will be invited to participate, along with people from five other sites across the nation.

All told, researchers hope to enroll 2,700 children.

In addition to Kaiser Permanente’s Division of Research in Oakland, other organizations involved in the study include Johns Hopkins University in Maryland, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the University of Pennsylvania, and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.

The national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will fund the study.

Its wide scope won praise from some parents of autistic children.

“I’m pleased to see the research moving in the direction of looking at environmental factors,” said Rick Rollens, the father of an autistic child and a co-founder of the M.I.N.D. Institute at University of California, Davis.

The study is unlikely to shed light on one of the most controversial issues in autism today — whether thimerosal, a mercury-based vaccine preservative, contributed to the rapid rise in cases. The research will focus only on children born from September 2003 to August 2005. That was after many pharmaceutical companies voluntarily removed thimerosal from children’s vaccines.

Despite this limitation, Rollens said he is pleased that vaccine history will be a part of the review.

“Vaccines still contain aluminum, formaldehyde, MSG, live viruses and killed bacteria, among many other things,” Rollens said.

Just a few decades ago, autism was considered a rare condition. Today, it has become so prevalent that the American Academy of Pediatrics now recommends autism screening for all children between the ages of 18 and 24 months, even if parents have not noticed anything unusual.

The Wallace family of San Jose may provide proof of the genetic component to autism.

Leland, an engineer at Apple Computer, and his wife Vanessa, who teaches music at home, are raising five children. Four of them have some form of autism. Three are from Leland’s first marriage. The two youngest are Leland and Vanessa’s offspring.

Eighteen-year-old Ian and 11-year-old Connor have both been diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome, a high-functioning form of autism. The Wallaces began to notice that despite his high IQ, Ian had some unusual behaviors, including speaking in what sounded like a British accent.

“He really had not a clue about how friendship worked,” Vanessa said. “If plans changed, he’d get upset.”

Obsessed with video games, Ian speaks about them in great detail in a flat, monotone voice.

“He doesn’t pick up on cues that you’re no longer interested in the subject,” his father said.

Ian is taking computer classes at West Valley College in hopes of becoming a video game designer.

Sixteen-year-old Briana is not autistic. Four-year-old Meghan was diagnosed with a high-functioning form of the disorder after her parents noticed that she often had difficulty maintaining a conversation, yet could echo phrases she heard on television. Two-year-old Gillian also has been diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder.

Despite the challenges, the Wallace family appeared to be a happy, close-knit group during a recent interview.

“You look at what their strengths are,” Vanessa said. “That’s just parenting.”

Bay Area researchers hope to recruit 450 families, divided evenly among children with autism; those who have other developmental disorders; and those who are developing typically. Kaiser members and non-Kaiser members are eligible to participate.

The assessments will be done at Kaiser’s autism center in San Jose. Included will be a family interview and a 40-minute observation of how a child plays, said Dr. Pilar Bernal, who directs Kaiser’s regional autism program.

Investigators will also collect cheek swabs, and blood and hair samples.

The Wallace family eagerly awaits the findings.

“Every little bit of data that we collect helps us as parents to be better parents for our children,” Vanessa said.

Author: Sandy Kleffman
925-943-8249 or skleffman@bayareanewsgroup.com
Source: http://www.insidebayarea.com

For more information on autism related information and nutrition visit: www.awakennutrition.com

New scientific data and opinion supports nutrition and dietary intervention as helpful for those with autism. Newly updated book by Autism diet expert, Nourishing Hope, explains the scientific rationale for applying special diets.

San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) November 27, 2007 — For every one in 150 children diagnosed with autism, traditional thinking recommends only behavior and communication therapies and medicines to control symptoms. Julie Matthews, Certified Nutrition Consultant and author of Nourishing Hope, knows that something is missing. Treatment options have been limited due to a narrow perspective of autism as strictly a brain, or ‘psychiatric’ disorder. “Fortunately, science is now rethinking autism and new data supports the idea that special diets can help,” Julie says.

Scientists from the University of Western Ontario recently linked a compound produced in the digestive system (also found in wheat and dairy products) to autistic type behavior, which may demonstrate that what autistic children eat could alter their brain function. Commenting on the study, Dr. Martha Herbert, Assistant Professor in Neurology at Harvard Medical School, recently told CBC news in Canada, “Now we’re learning that the brain and body can influence each other. There are chemicals produced by and influenced by foods that can affect the brain.” If you remove those foods, that negative impact can stop.

The new edition of Matthews’ book, Nourishing Hope, highlights recent research in biochemistry and nutrition for autism, and explains the scientific rationale for dietary intervention to help restore health. Doctors and researchers are now recognizing what nutrition experts like Julie have known for years, that the brain is “downstream” from the body’s biochemistry, and not the sole origin of the problems seen with autism.

Indeed, the editor-in-chief of the peer-reviewed journal, Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, Mark A. Hyman, M.D., posits a new “systemic way of thinking” about autism in his current editorial, Is The Cure For Brain Disorders Outside The Brain? He states that nutritional deficiencies or imbalances can explain some symptoms of autism and that “the body’s influence on the brain must come to the forefront of research and treatment.”

To help with autism, Julie recommends avoiding gluten and casein (wheat and dairy) because these foods are known to affect a brain response similar to morphine leading to foggy thinking and food cravings in children. Next, she suggests introducing foods that are easy to digest, rich in good bacteria, and packed with nutrients such as homemade broths, naturally fermented foods, and pureed vegetables hidden in meatballs, as well as supplements such as cod liver oil, probiotics (good bacteria), B6, magnesium, and zinc.

Children with autism tend to have very limited diets, so the idea of removing wheat and dairy can initially seem challenging to some parents: however, Julie provides encouragement by explaining, “Once you remove the problematic foods that can be addictive, children often expand their diet tremendously.” Thousands of parents who’ve applied nutrition intervention attest that what they feed their kids clearly makes a difference.

Since parents determine children’s diets, this major key to autism is literally in their hands.

Julie Matthews is a Certified Nutrition Consultant specializing in autism spectrum disorders. She speaks at national autism conferences, and leads cooking demonstrations on traditional healing foods. Julie has a private nutrition practice and weekly radio show in San Francisco and assists families from around the world.

For more information: NourishingHope.com
415-235-2960

For information on nutritional products for Autism please visit www.awakennutrition.com

Researchers at the Ohio State University Medical Center said an old drug may offer new hope for children struggling with autism.According to the Autism Society of America, autism is the fastest growing developmental disability in the United States. There is no cure, but researchers are testing a variety of treatments, including a drug called mecamylamine.Mecamylamine was first used to treat high blood pressure in the 1950s. Researchers at the Ohio State University Medical Center said the drug has been effective more recently in helping children control the symptoms of conditions like Tourette syndrome and attention deficit disorder. They hope it might also help with autism.

“There is some hope that it will make a significant improvement in the core symptoms: the social impairment, the communication, the repetitive behavior, such that it will help them to faster get along the road to rehabilitation,” said researcher Dr. Eugene Arnold.

For the current study, 20 children age 4 to 12 with autism will receive the drug or placebo over 13 weeks.For more information about the study, contact coordinator Kristy Humphries at (614) 292-3698 or humphries.33@osu.edu.To learn more about autism, go to: www.autismspeaks.org

For information on autism nutrition and treatments please visit: www.awakennutrition.com

Source: http://www.clickondetroit.com/health/14525264/detail.html