PLT Test Blog

The mechanism controlling transporting just the “right” number of GABA A receptors Today’s post is not for the faint-hearted.   It is another one that could just keep on rolling.   Ling will like it. It again shows that GABA A receptors are at the centre of much autism, whether single gene or idiopathic. Today we highlight what can go wrong as these receptors are “transported”. Today’s post also draws on several quite recent papers. It seeks to tie together some previous things mentioned in this blog like the symptoms of pain, particularly felt in the head, sensory sensitivity with dysfunction processes like autophagy and linking it all back to the GABA A  receptor.  There is even a link at the end to the "fever effect", which occurs when a high temperature in some people causes a marked improvement in their autism symptoms. We will come across some expensive drugs like Erenumab, the medical food PEA ( Palmitoylethanolamide) and indeed Natasa’s favourite, CBD ( Can...

Today’s post might seem to have a very complicated tittle, but to regular readers it is really just another take on what we have seen time and time again. Today we see how another steroid imbalance in autism – low levels of allopregnenolone in this case – affects the neurotransmitter GABA and indeed the chloride transporter KCC2. Putting Prozac/Zoloft to a better use? I did report previously on a trial in adults with autism where pregnenolone was used. Brief report: an open-label study of the neurosteroid pregnenolone in adults with autism spectrum disorder. Pregnenolone - an effective OTC anti-inflammatory therapy for autism? Why Low Doses can work differently, or “Biphasic, U-shaped actions at the GABAa receptor” Recall that disturbed hormonal homeostasis is a key feature of autism. What matters is the level of each hormone inside the brain (i.e. centrally), not in your blood. The only way to get a reliable idea of what is going on would be to take a sample of spinal fluid. Today w...