PLT Test Blog

Researchers are always looking for biomarkers of autism as a diagnostic tool; I am more interested in biomarkers as an indicator of might be going wrong and hence, perhaps, an indicator of what to do about it. Going back more than half a century, just such a biomarker was found.   Increased platelet levels of 5-HT ( 5-Hydroxytryptophan) were found in 30-40 % of the autistic population.   5-HTP increases the production of the neurotransmitter serotonin and so it was suggested that hyperserotonemia may be a factor in autism.     Hyperseratonemia (Serotonin syndrome) Hyperseratonemia is not treated by reducing the amount of serotonin, rather by using a receptor antagonist that in effect blocks the serotonin effect.     SSRIs and other anti-depressants Several classes of drugs target the 5-HT system including     anti-depressants , antipsychotics , anxiolytics , antiemetics , and antimigraine drugs , as well as the psychedelic drugs and empathoge...

I am returning to an old theme of mine, which is my hypothesis that the thyroid releasing hormone (TRH) may be of therapeutic value in autism.   I have been reading up on what some endocrinologists are doing the US and also looking a bit deeper into the underlying biology of the related hormones and thinking about my research sample of one, Monty aged 10 with ASD.   My original hypothesis was argued in an earlier post. The Peter Hypothesis of TRH-induced Behavioural Homeostatis in Autism Since none of the TRH researchers care to reply to my emails, I decided to refine and document my hypothesis further and then plan to go and see a child endocrinologist for myself.   In most countries, the doctor does the talking and the patient does the listening, so I know that I need something unusual; I called it “an open minded endocrinologist”. Peter’s TRH & Central Hypothyroidism Theory Research has documented which parts of the autistic brain are often damaged.   ...

A polypill is a pill that contains multiple pharmaceutical ingredients.   The idea is that for common conditions, like cardiovascular (heart) disease, a very cheap one-size-fits-all pill would actually bring great health benefits.   Many people in rich countries do not bother to take multiple pills and in poor countries most people cannot afford them, or cannot afford to visit the doctor more than once. In the case of heart disease, it was shown that such a pill would cost about 10 cents and would be highly effective and extend people's live by several years.   Perhaps the Penny Pill might be another name for it.   Polypill helps people stick to heart disease prevention regimens Polypill for Autism The main problem with autism is that 90+% of doctors are not even trying to treat it and are unaware of even the limited knowledge that does exist, to diagnose and treat sub-types (eg Landau-Kleffner syndrome ). So it would be clever to develop a one-size-fits-all pi...

I wrote earlier posts about the role of histamine in summertime autism flare-ups.   I ended up using a combination of a regular antihistamine like Claritin with Ketotifen, which though also an antihistamine, is a partial mast cell stabilizer .   I recently found a very useful table which shows different regimens that can be used for just this problem:-   The table is from a paper, again by Dr Theoharides, called:   Autism: an emerging ‘neuroimmune disorder’ in search   of therapy Rupatadine is a safe and cheap antihistamine mainly sold in Europe.   The science appears to show that it is more effective at stabilizing the mast cells involved in allergies than Ketotifen . The problem I found with Ketotifen is that it has very little immediate effect, unlike Claritin, so I ended up using both.   By the looks of things, Rupatadine may indeed do the job of both. The table also mentions Periactin , which is an old first generati...