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Low-dose naltrexone may help increase social interactions and cheerfulness in some children with autism.
A dose of about 0.25 mg/kg naltrexone drug therapy every other day helped some children, and better social behaviors were seen on the days in between. The theory for how this works is that low-dose naltrexone increases production of opioids and dopamine activity in the brain, which can make the brain feel happier.
Massage therapy may help young children with autism to have better social behavior, use more facial expressions, and make more sounds.
The vagus nerve is important for the nervous system and social function. The vagus nerve goes from the brain to the gut, heart, ears, mouth, and voice. Children with autism have low activity of the vagus nerve. People with lower vagal activity also tend to have higher stress hormone (cortisol) levels and lower levels of the brain chemicals dopamine and serotonin. This review article describes vagal activity and how infant massage can be used to increase vagal activity.
Several brain chemicals (neurotransmitters) may be good targets for future autism therapy drugs.
This article reviews genetic causes of autism and describes future approaches to drug therapy. The behaviors of people with autism can vary quite a bit. A great deal of research is going on to try and understand the biology and chemistry that form the basis of these behaviors. Many brain chemicals have been linked to autism and these might be targets for drug therapy. Some of the brain chemicals include oxytocin, vasopressin, dopamine, GABA, and acetylcholine.
This article shows that mice treated with vitamin C (ascorbate) have a complicated response to the treatment: low doses produce more stereotyped behavior; and higher doses produce less.
Dopamine agonists, or compounds that act like dopamine in the brain (for example, amphetamines), produce repetitive, stereotyped behavior in humans and other animals. This article showed that mice that were exposed to a dopamine agonist had less stereotyped behavior if they had been treated with vitamin C at a relatively high dose, and more stereotyped behavior when they were treated with a lower dose of vitamin C. Also, vitamin C at the higher dose made several psychiatric drugs, including haloperidol, more effective in treating these stereotyped behaviors. The authors conclude that vitamin C at higher doses reduces the activity of the dopamine system.
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Biomedical Treatments
Oct 25, 2006 by AnonymousMy daughter has improved enormously on a specific protocol of supplements, detoxification, and gf/cf, soy free, glutamate free, low sugar diet. It is not idiopathic as she regressed after 165 mcg of thimerosal. She is now being treated for toxic encephalopathy, gut dysbiosis, an inability to excrete heavy metals, immune dysfunction, and food intolerances.
I see nothing on this site about many autistic children having immune and gut dysfunction, nor any studies about inflammation at all.
Autism: A Novel Form of Mercury Poisoning.
Medical Hypothesis, 2001.
Sallie Bernard, Albert Enyati, Lynn Redwood, RN, Teresa Binstock, PhD.
Comparison of Blood and Brain Mercury Levels in Infant Monkeys Exposed to Methylmercury or Vaccines Containing Thimerosal.
Environmental Health Perspectives, Aug 2005.
Thimerosal Neurotoxicity is Associated with Glutathione Depletion: Protection with Glutathione Precursors.
Neurotoxicology, Jan 2005.
S. Jill James, PhD [University of Arkansas].
Large Brains in Autism: The Challenge of Pervasive Abnormality.
The Neuroscientist, Volume 11, Number 5, 2005.
Martha Herbert, MD, PhD [Harvard University].
Neurotoxic Effects of Postnatal Thimerosal are Mouse Strain Dependent.
Molecular Psychiatry, Sep 2004.
Mady Hornig, MD [Columbia University].
Activation of Methionine Synthase by Insulin-like Growth Factor-1 and Dopamine: a Target for Neurodevelopmental Toxins and Thimerosal.
Molecular Psychiatry, July 2004.
Richard C. Deth, PhD [Northeastern University].
Neuroglial Activation and Neuroinflammation in the Brain of Patients with Autism.
Annals of Neurology, Feb 2005.
Diana L. Vargas, MD [Johns Hopkins University].
Reduced Levels of Mercury in First Baby Haircuts of Autistic Children
International Journal of Toxicology
Dr. Amy S. Holmes, Mark F. Blaxill, Boyd E. Haley, Ph.D.
March 14, 2003
Dysregulated Innate Immune Responses in Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders: Their Relationship to Gastrointestinal Symptoms and Dietary Intervention.
Neuropsychobiology, 2005.
Harumi Jyonouchi, MD [New Jersey Medical School].
http://www.autismwebsite.com/ari/index.htm