Researchers at Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center in Chicago have shown that some children suffering from autism may experience short-term but dramatic improvement during treatment with appropriate antibiotics.
Researchers report that when a subset of patients-whose autism may involve colonization of the bowel by certain bacteria that produce a toxin-were treated with antimicrobial agents, most experienced short-term improvement of their autism symptoms.
The journal article is authored by Dr. Richard Sandler, director of pediatric gastroenterology at Rush Children's Hospital, part of Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center in Chicago. Other key contributors are Dr. Sydney Finegold, professor of microbiology and molecular genetics at the University of California at Los Angeles Medical School and Ellen Bolte, mother of a child with autism. The Veteran's Administration Medical Center in West Los Angeles also contributed to the study. Autism typically occurs before two years of age and involves loss of language, social and play skills. According to a study just completed by the Centers for Disease Control indicates that autistic spectrum disorder affects an estimated one in 150 children.
The initial hypothesis was the result of years of research by Ms. Bolte, whose son developed autism at 19 months of age following several months of broad-spectrum antibiotic treatment for fluid within the middle ear. "It is possible that certain neurotoxin-producing bacteria may find favorable growth conditions if the protective intestinal flora has been disrupted by broad-spectrum antibiotic treatment," Ms Bolte speculates. The hypothesis, although unconventional, may revolutionize the way autism is viewed. "It was not long ago that patients diagnosed with peptic ulcers were advised to watch their diet and reduce stress. Now, it is well-established that most peptic ulcers are caused by Helicobacter pylori (a bacteria) and can be cured by antibiotic treatment," she said.
In this study, nine of 11 children treated with the antimicrobial agent experienced improved cognitive function, behavior and social skills. The improvement was at times impressive. Unfortunately, regression usually occurred, often to the pre-treatment status.
Dr. Finegold emphasized that the investigational therapy used in this trial, orally administered vancomycin, is not recommended for general use because it would encourage further development of resistance of various bacteria to it.
Journal of Child Neurology July, 2000
I am glad to see that this work has finally been published. I discussed this research with Ellen a year or so ago and was very excited about it. I believe that she has stumbled onto one of the essential metabolic dysfunctions in autism - a highly imbalanced gut flora. Her central thesis is that a specific group of bacteria that grow without oxygen (anerobic) called Clostridia, have taken over and require elimination. She took her case to many specialists and Dr. Sandler was the only one who was kind enough to promote her research. Dr. Sandler's connections with Dr. Feingold is also invaluable as Dr. Feingold is probably the top anerobic bacteria specialist in the world.
There are however some unfortunate aspects of this research. Dr Sandler is a traditional physician who does not have any clue about diet. I have had him tell some of the autistic children I care for tell me that he told them that eating MacDonald's French fries and sugar is not a problem. He is close to 100% clueless about diet, despite being trained at Harvard. His paradigm is to fight and destroy and combat the Clostridia which is why he is using potent antibiotics. This approach is guaranteed to fail as it next to impossible to control the infection this way as it does not address the underlying disorder of the immune system which causes the infection to gain a foothold to begin with. Antitioics to control this problem are a prescription for disaster and will likely worsen all that use them. Many of the children improve initially, but to the best of my knowledge, the long-term success of this approach is very poor.
The exciting aspect of the research though is that they are culturing anaerobic organisms that seem to be peculiar for autistic children. I believe this information is a breakthough and is what is coming out of Dr. Feingold's lab. I spoke with Dr. Feingold a year ago and he was absolutely unwilling to share any of his data prior to publication. Most unfortunate. If we knew the specific organisms it would be quite simple to develop a homeopathic remedy which would greatly aid the improvement of most of the autistic children. It is unclear when this data will be published. I have not reviewed the orginal study quoted above, but I doubt that includes the details of Dr. Feingold's research.
The reason that my dietary recommendations appear to work to improve nearly all autistic children who apply them is that the highly restricted grain and no sugar, casein and gluten approach seems to limit the food that these organisms require to survive. They essentially die for lack of food. Additionally the high vegetable content likely has phytochemicals that are also directly toxic to the organisms.
If you are interested in autism, it is the cover story on this week's Newsweek magazine, although I haven't read it yet so I can't attest to its merit.
Related Articles:
The Neurobiology of Lipids In Autistic Spectrum Disorder Link Between Autism and Vaccination Autism May Be Caused By an Immune System Response To a Virus Vaccine - Autism Link Feared Vaccine Induced Autism Milk Link To Autism
The Neurobiology of Lipids In Autistic Spectrum Disorder
Link Between Autism and Vaccination
Autism May Be Caused By an Immune System Response To a Virus
Vaccine - Autism Link Feared
Vaccine Induced Autism
Milk Link To Autism