PLT Test Blog

Source: Peter Research                      Notes   Oxidative stress increases neuro-inflammation Neuro-inflammation increases oxidative stress Both oxidative stress and neuro-inflammation contribute to central hormonal dysfunction, e.g. stress reducing D2 levels that stop T4 converting to T3 in the brain One year after starting my investigation, I thought it would be useful to sum up Classic Autism in a simple form.  I chose a Venn diagram.  At school your kids probably have just  two overlapping circles.  If you have four variables you need to use ellipses.  Where all four variables are in play, is the area where all four ellipses overlap.  This is untreated classic autism.   Once you successfully treat any of the four trouble areas (Neuro-inflammation, oxidative stress, channelopathies and hormonal dysfunction in the brain) you can modi...

Tonsil biopsy in variant CJD, source: Wikipedia Amyloid may sound like someone’s name, but in fact it is something rather sinister and is related to many brain disorders.   It appears that, at least in severe cases, they may be implicated in autism, or least the precursor is. Proteins that are normally soluble undergo a process called amyloidosis, which makes them insoluble and allows deposits to accumulate in various organs, including the brain.   There are many known examples, including Alzheimer’s   and Mad Cow Disease ( Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease ).   A number of years ago there was a huge public health scare in the UK, when humans were affected by Mad Cow Disease, after eating the brains of cows in processed food. Symptoms vary widely, depending upon where in the body amyloid deposits accumulate. Amyloidosis may be inherited or acquired. The precursor to amyloid is naturally called   Amyloid Precursor Protein (APP). APP exists in...

Source:Wikipedia For the psychologists among you, and self-taught ABA parents like me, you will know what is a meant by an "acquired behaviour".  So once a child has learnt a behaviour, that resulted in something the child found rewarding, the behaviour will repeat. Once learnt, it is difficult to get rid of unwanted acquired behaviours.  An example in autism would be self-injury. In an earlier post, we learnt that children at risk of developing asthma, if identified and treated with a mast cell stabilizer, could be prevented from developing asthma.  Once you have had one asthma attack, more will follow. Today, I learnt that you can acquire a channelopathy , that is to say an ion-channel disease that is normally caused by your genes. An Acquired Channelopathy Involving Thalamic T-Type Ca2+ Channels after Status Epilepticus   "We do know that in some forms of epilepsy, once someone has a seizure they tend to have more. Our findings from this study sugge...

  For parents more severely affected by autism, one of the most difficult things to deal with is anger, aggression and self-injurious behaviour (SIB).   SIB is sometimes rather politely referred to as challenging behaviour. In the case of Monty, aged 10 with ASD, we have overcome these problems (for now at least); but for other people have to struggle on with them, on a daily basis.  SIB can affect any person with autism, whether they are severely, moderately or mildly affected otherwise.  Left untamed, I am reliably informed, it may return in adulthood.   So, for those people, who do not want to follow the “novel”, but science-based, interventions discussed elsewhere in this blog, here is what the experts have to say:-   From the US  (an excellent paper) :- Autism: Should My Child Take Medicine for Challenging Behavior?     From the UK:- Self-Injurious Behaviour   From Canada:- How Do I Decide if my Child Should Have Med...

Regular readers will know that I believe in the value of investigating the comorbidities of autism.   We have a cleaning lady who comes each week to help keep our house in order.   She also understands the value of comorbidities. She is one of my independent observers, in changes in the behaviour of Monty, aged 10 with ASD.   She has a friend, whose husband was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s. Alzheimer’s is not autism, but they are both examples of brain damage. Still in his early 50s, the husband does not recognize his children and cannot leave home.   The expert Professor, treating him privately, was not halting the rapid decline. So the cleaning lady asks me about all my investigations and decides that she might as well tell her friend.   She decided to suggest the antioxidant NAC and the cholinergic stimulant nicotine. Well, after NAC, the husband was able to make it to the WC and do his business.   A small step forward. After a day with the nic...

  In earlier posts I have touched upon the problems of clinical trials in autism:- ·         Highly subjective, or ineffective, rating scales for autistic behaviours ·         Lack of biomarkers, or any other marker, to target a specific sub-types(phenotypes of autism ·         Very small sample sizes and often amateur execution, meaning the results cannot be replicated I think one of these problems has a ready solution, at least for verbal primary school children with ASD.   Assessment Week Last week, Monty aged 10 with ASD, had assessment week at school.   The academic subjects he participates in, are Maths, English and Science.   We have chosen to skip Geography, History and French.   Monty already has another second language. Following the tests at school, I decided to make a test of my own.   I stopped all of my therapies and waited to see what w...

  With a title like that, not many people will stumble upon this post with Google. So, for the hard-core of readers, today I am going to develop an idea of Martha Herbert, the pediatric neuroscientist from Harvard, who writes a lot about autism. Incidentally, most researchers do not like publicity, and particularly those looking at autism.   Martha, herself makes some side remarks as to why this is; as I suggested in earlier posts it dates back 10+ years to a certain Dr Wakefield . “A further barrier to considering the body’s impact on the brain was the reaction to the work of Wakefield, who argued not only that there was a link   between   autism   and   vaccines   but   also   that   this   link was mediated through the gastrointestinal system. For the better part of a decade any at tempt to discuss gastrointestinal or immune issues with autism was con strued as a support of Wakefield’s vaccine hypothesis, and it was difficult to ...