PLT Test Blog

    This post follows on the previous one that raised the issue of brain-specific insulin sensitivity being a common feature of neurological diseases/disorders. It appears to be much more than just a rare possibility.   There have been numerous studies and even more are ongoing. Intranasal insulin has even been tried one single-gene type of autism ( Phelan-McDermid Syndrome) and in autism’s big brothers, bipolar and schizophrenia. I did look for trials in children with Down Syndrome, since here is a direct link to Alzheimer’s, but there is just a trial in adults in progress. There was an early trial in typical adults which is interesting since it found not only a cognitive improvement but also improved mood, so perhaps it should be trialed in adults with depression.  In the US, interestingly, T3 thyroid hormone is sometimes given off-label for depression and some antidepressants increase the conversion of the pro-hormone T4 to T3 in the brain.  I think cent...

      By  Agnieszka Wroczyńska, MD, PhD,  Medical University of Gdansk, Poland In June 2014 my son with severe autism was given verapamil as an emergency mast cell stabilizer according to Peter’s blog, as we run out of other medication ordered from abroad. This turned out to be a life changing moment for him and my family. Two days later his chronic diarrhea resolved completely and soon after we also saw improvements in other symptoms and behaviors. Several months, blog entries and papers read later my son still uses verapamil and now also other medications targeting autism, most of them being included into Peter’s PolyPill . He is still significantly affected by ASD, but his quality of life improved much, thanks to this blog. Recently I have visited a very open-minded pediatrician, the first one who suspected medical issues behind challenging behaviours in my son and she asked me about papers on verapamil use in ASD, possibly to include it into her clinical pra...

Intranasal insulin, for cognitive enhancement in Alzheimer’s and … Today’s post was sparked by another little experiment of mine; no, not intranasal insulin. Recently I have been using a reduced number of therapies on Monty, aged 12 with ASD.  Some people think there are just too many pills. I wrote many posts last year about something called PPAR gamma ( Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma, PPAR-γ   or   PPARG, also known as the   glitazone receptor). As you can read in Wikipedia:- PPAR-gamma has been implicated in the pathology of numerous diseases including obesity, diabetes, atherosclerosis, and cancer. PPAR-gamma   agonists   have been used in the treatment of   hyperlipidaemia   and hyperglycemia .   PPAR-gamma decreases the inflammatory response of many cardiovascular cells, particularly   endothelial cells .   PPAR-gamma activates the PON1   gene, increasing synthesis and release of   paraoxonase ...