PLT Test Blog

  Today’s post is about a drug originally proposed by Wayne State University in the US, but so far approved and widely used mostly in Asia.   China is the big producer/user and Italy is the outlier where it is also used.   Therapeutic Developed in United States Benefits Many in Asia Since Wayne State University gastroenterologist Milton Mutchnick, M.D., first proposed using the hormone-like peptide thymosin alpha 1 to combat Hepatitis B in the mid-1980s, the drug has seen both outstanding success and somber letdown. Overseas, thymosin has become an important tool for fighting Hepatitis B, cancers and infections. Within the United States, its promise remains in doubt decades later.   Today we consider repurposing a naturally occurring peptide from the thymus to restore balance/homeostasis to the immune system in people with autism. It has been well documented in the research (for example by Paul Ashwood at the MIND Institute) that the immune system can be dysfun...

  A couple of weeks ago I took Monty, aged 18 with ASD, for his Covid booster injection. Since I was accompanying an adult and filling in his paperwork, I thought I should explain why I was needed there. I just said he has autism and prefers to speak English. Where we live, autism still means severe autism and I for one would be very wary about trying to stick a needle in an unknown person with that diagnosis. Monty is no problem at all at the doctor or dentist, he has figured all this out. Moves are afoot to reintroduce the term “profound autism” to describe older children and adults who are severely disabled.   The Lancet Commission on the future of care and clinical research in autism (free to access full paper) Awareness of autism has grown monumentally over the past 20 years. Yet, this increased awareness has not been accompanied by improvements in services to support autistic individuals and their families. Many fundamental questions remain about the care of people...