Healing Thresholds Autism Therapy Topic Feed

Low-Dose Naltrexone for Disease Prevention and Quality of Life

scottie — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 16:51:33 +0000

Title	Low-Dose Naltrexone for Disease Prevention and Quality of Life
Publication Type	Journal Article
Authors	Brown N, Panksepp J
Journal Title	Medical Hypotheses
Year of Publication	2009
Volume	72
Pages	333-337
URL for Abstract	http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19041189?ordinalpos=7&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_DefaultReportPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum
Full Text	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.

Vagal Activity, Early Growth, and Emotional Development

scottie — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 15:59:02 +0000

Title	Vagal Activity, Early Growth, and Emotional Development
Publication Type	Journal Article
Authors	Field T, Diego M
Journal Title	Infant Behavior & Development
Year of Publication	2008
Volume	31
Issue	3
Pages	361-373
URL for Abstract	http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18295898?ordinalpos=6&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_DefaultReportPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum
Full Text	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.

Treatment of Autism Spectrum Disorders: Neurotransmitter Signaling Pathways Involved in Motivation and Reward as Therapeutic Targets

scottie — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 19:05:28 +0000

Title	Treatment of Autism Spectrum Disorders: Neurotransmitter Signaling Pathways Involved in Motivation and Reward as Therapeutic Targets
Publication Type	Journal Article
Authors	Walker MA
Journal Title	Expert Opinion on Therapeutic Targets
Year of Publication	2008
Volume	12
Issue	8
Pages	949-967
URL for Abstract	http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18620518?ordinalpos=2&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum
Full Text	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.

Biomedical Treatments

Wed, 25 Oct 2006 22:43:19 +0000

My 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

Antagonistic Activity of Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C) on Dopaminergic Modulation: Apomorphone-Induced Stereotypic Behavior in Mice

scottie — Sun, 22 Oct 2006 02:05:40 +0000

Title	Antagonistic Activity of Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C) on Dopaminergic Modulation: Apomorphone-Induced Stereotypic Behavior in Mice
Publication Type	Journal Article
Authors	Deshpande C, Dhir A, Kulkarni SK
Journal Title	Pharmacology
Year of Publication	2006
Volume	77
Pages	38-45
URL for Abstract	http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=16569938&query_hl=5&itool=pubmed_docsum
Full Text	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.

Chronic Ascorbate Potentiates the Effects of Chronic Haloperidol on Behavioral Supersensitivity but not D2 Dopamine Receptor Binding

scottie — Sun, 22 Oct 2006 02:01:38 +0000

Title	Chronic Ascorbate Potentiates the Effects of Chronic Haloperidol on Behavioral Supersensitivity but not D2 Dopamine Receptor Binding
Publication Type	Journal Article
Authors	Pierce RC, Rowlett JK, Bardo MT, Rebec GV
Journal Title	Neuroscience
Year of Publication	1991
Volume	45
Pages	373-378
URL for Abstract	http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=1762684&query_hl=7&itool=pubmed_docsum
Full Text	This article demonstrates that rats treated with vitamin C (ascorbate) had similar behavior to those treated with the tranquilizer haloperidol, but that vitamin C and the tranquilizer acted through two different mechanisms. It is known that in animals, vitamin C has similar effects as the tranquilizer haloperidol, so some researchers think that vitamin C and haloperidol act through similar mechanisms. In this study, the authors test this idea. First they show that rats exposed to a dopamine agonist (a dopamine-like compound) will respond with more sniffing behavior if they have been treated with low-dose vitamin C or haloperidol as compared to rats treated with placebo. Then, they examine the brains of these rats to see if the treatments caused changes in dopamine receptors. They found that rats treated with haloperidol alone had more dopamine receptors compared to rats treated with placebo, but that rats treated with vitamin C alone did not. The authors conclude that even though vitamin C and haloperidol result in similar behavioral effects, they do not affect the dopamine system in the same way.