Healing Thresholds Autism Therapy Topic Feed

Vitamin C Therapy for Children with Autism

PWSMom — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 21:02:05 +0000

What is it?

Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) is an essential water-soluble vitamin that is found naturally in many foods. Vitamin C is important for many biological processes including the production of neurotransmitters. Vitamin C also acts as an anti-oxidant, protecting the body against damage from free radicals ⁽¹⁾.

What's it like?

Vitamin C is found naturally in many foods, particularly citrus fruits such as oranges, tangerines, and grapefruits. Vitamin C can be purchased over-the-counter, online, or at grocery, drug, or health-food stores. It can be taken every day. Unfortunately, it is not clear what the proper dose for children with autism should be. One published research report on treatment of children with autism used a dose of 8 grams/70 kg/day (or about 2 grams daily for a 40-pound child) divided into two or three doses ⁽²⁾. If you choose vitamin C as an alternative therapy, ask your child's pediatrician what dose is appropriate for your child.

What is the theory behind it?

Some children with autism may have a vitamin C deficiency. One study demonstrated normal vitamin C levels among children with autism ⁽³⁾, while another reported low levels ⁽⁴⁾. Some investigators believe, however, that supplementation with vitamin C can be helpful even for children with normal levels of vitamin C ⁽³⁾.

Vitamin C has been shown to have a calming effect on behavior in humans ⁽⁵⁾. In animals, stereotyped behavior, one of the characteristics of autism ⁽³⁾, was reduced by treatment with vitamin C ⁽⁶⁾. Scientists hypothesize that vitamin C has these effects because it affects the brain signaling system called the glutamatergic system ⁽⁷⁾ and/or the brain’s response to an important neurotransmitter called dopamine ⁽⁶⁾.

Another explanation for the effectiveness of vitamin C is its anti-oxidant properties ⁽¹⁾. Some researchers have theorized that children with autism may have more trouble managing free radicals than other children do ^{(8, 9)}. Free radicals are naturally-occurring chemicals that play important roles in normal functions in the body, but also can cause damage in the brain, immune system, and other tissues or organs in the body. The body has systems to protect tissues from free radical damage, and anti-oxidants are important for this protection. Because it is an anti-oxidant, vitamin C can protect the body against the damaging effects of free radicals.

Does it work?

So far, only one controlled study has shown that vitamin C can help treat behavioral problems associated with autism ⁽²⁾. This double-blind experiment showed that high doses of vitamin C in children with autism had significant positive effects on behavior, compared against their own behavior scores when they were taking a placebo. However, this study was very small (only 18 children), and has not been replicated ⁽¹⁰⁾.

Another research report (uncontrolled study) showed that high doses of vitamin C may help sleep and gastrointestinal problems in children with autism ⁽⁴⁾. In this study, vitamin C was taken along with other vitamins, so it's not clear which vitamin was responsible for the positive outcomes.

Is it harmful?

For most people, vitamin C is thought to be harmless. However, tolerance for vitamin C can vary. Therefore, you should watch your child carefully for signs of an upset stomach or diarrhea ⁽¹⁾. The U.S. FDA Recommended Daily Intakes are 15-75 mg/day for children, and 75-90 mg/day for adults ⁽¹¹⁾. Check with your child's pediatrician before starting treatment.

Cost

The cost of vitamin C treatment depends on the dosage selected. A bottle of 100 tablets at 1,000 mg (1 g) can cost anywhere from $5 to $20, depending on the quality of the ingredients and the store. The study showing positive effects on behavior used vitamin C donated from a pharmaceutical supply company (Hoffman-LaRoche). Vitamin C supplements may contain sodium, calcium, magnesium, potassium, or zinc ascorbates (salts) of ascorbic acid ⁽⁴⁾; ask your child's pediatrician which form is best for your child. Vitamin C supplements can also be found online, sometimes at a discount.

Resources

Healing Thresholds has partnered with Webvitamins. They have a large selection of top quality vitamins and supplements.

Vitamin C can also be purchased at most grocery stores and drug stores.

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References

What is it?

Weekly Music Therapy May Have Benefits for Kids on the Autism Spectrum

scottie — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 15:00:00 +0000

Teaser:

C.M. See of the Universiti Sains Malaysia recently published a study on the benefits of music therapy for kids with autism.

Body:

C.M. See of the Universiti Sains Malaysia recently published a study on the benefits of music therapy for kids with autism. She studied 41 children over a 10-month period offering weekly music therapy sessions. See and her team found that inattentive behavior improved for the kids. Music therapy, along with movement therapy, has been used with autism to improve communication, social skills, manage stress, and increase cognitive skills.

Original Article:

Music Therapy Improves Behavior in Children with Autism, Study Suggests

Treatment Controversies in Autism

scottie — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 16:42:56 +0000

Title	Treatment Controversies in Autism
Publication Type	Journal Article
Authors	Schreibman L
Journal Title	Zero to Three
Year of Publication	2008
Volume	March
Pages	38-45
URL for Abstract	http://www.zerotothree.org/site/DocServer/ZTT28-4_mar_08.pdf?docID=7246
Full Text	Research suggests that behavioral autism therapies (discrete trial training and naturalistic strategies) may be most helpful for children with autism. This review article describes autism therapies and the research behind the therapies. The author calls on parents to avoid sensory integration therapy, diet therapy, and vitamin therapy. She notes that applied behavior analysis (ABA therapy) can improve autism symptoms and some children can make large gains with early ABA intervention. Above all, the therapy should be tailored to the child and the family. She calls for more research and careful thinking in order to find new treatments and test whether or not new treatments work.

Immune-Glutamatergic Dysfunction as a Central Mechanism of the Autism Spectrum Disorders

scottie — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 14:58:03 +0000

Title	Immune-Glutamatergic Dysfunction as a Central Mechanism of the Autism Spectrum Disorders
Publication Type	Journal Article
Authors	Blaylock RL, Strunecka A
Journal Title	Current Medicinal Chemistry
Year of Publication	2009
Volume	16
Issue	2
Pages	157-170
URL for Abstract	http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19149568?ordinalpos=6&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_DefaultReportPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum
Full Text	Vitamin B6, vitamin C, vitamin B12, magnesium, and omega-3 fatty acids may improve symptoms of autism. Autism is a spectrum disease and research has shown that it is likely caused by many genes. This paper describes the idea that autism is caused by a problem with the glutamine chemical in the brain. The authors propose that if glutamine does not work well within the brain, then microglia cells in the brain may become active and secrete many factors that can harm the brain. These factors may then cause symptoms of autism in people who are at genetic risk for autism. Treatment approaches would include use of supplements and reduction of processed foods that have additives that contain glutamate and aspartate. SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS AND COMPOUNDS, WHICH ARE KNOWN TO REDUCE EXCITOTOXICITY: Methylcobalamin (vitamin B12) Pyridoxal-5 phosphate (vitamin B6) Vitamin E (mixed tocopherols) Vitamin C (buffered) CoQ10 Acetyl-L-carnitine Alpha-lipoic acid Magnesium glycinate or lactate Zinc Flavonoids SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS AND COMPOUNDS, WHICH ARE KNOWN TO REDUCE MICROGLIAL ACTIVATION: Ibupropen Mincycline Ferulic acid DHEA Curcumin Quercetin Silymarin Baicalein Resveratrol DHA/EPA

Bone Pain, Growth Failure, and Skin Rash After an Upper Respiratory Illness in a Boy with Autism: Possible Associations with Altered Retinoid Metabolism

scottie — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 20:18:30 +0000

Title	Bone Pain, Growth Failure, and Skin Rash After an Upper Respiratory Illness in a Boy with Autism: Possible Associations with Altered Retinoid Metabolism
Publication Type	Journal Article
Authors	Mawson AR
Journal Title	Clinical Pediatrics
Year of Publication	2009
Volume	48
Issue	1
Pages	21-25
URL for Abstract	http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18566348?ordinalpos=7&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_DefaultReportPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum
Full Text	Vitamin C therapy may counter some of the toxic effects of high levels of vitamin A that may follow an infection. This case study describes a boy with autism who had severe pain in the right hip, fatigue, skin rash, and sore gums after being sick with a fever, cold and cough. These bone symptoms appeared three months after the cold was over. The authors suggest that the viral cold increased the level of vitamin A in the blood to toxic levels. The high levels of vitamin A could then have caused low levels of vitamin C. They describe this idea as being counter to the theory that children with autism have low levels of vitamin A.

A Preliminary Trial of Ascorbic Acid as Supplemental Therapy for Autism

scottie — Sun, 22 Oct 2006 02:17:42 +0000

Title	A Preliminary Trial of Ascorbic Acid as Supplemental Therapy for Autism
Publication Type	Journal Article
Authors	Dolske MC, Spollen J, McKay S, Lancashire E, Tolbert L
Journal Title	Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry.
Year of Publication	1993
Volume	17
Issue	5
Pages	765-774
URL for Abstract	http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=8255984&query_hl=13&itool=pubmed_docsum
Full Text	This article shows that vitamin C can improve behavior in children with autism. In this well-controlled study, the authors test the idea that vitamin C may be a useful alternative therapy for children with autism. One group of 18 children with autism (6 to 19 years old) was split into two treatment groups with 9 children each. One group received vitamin C (8 g/70 kg/day or about 2 grams daily for a 40-pound child) for 20 weeks and placebo for 10 weeks, and the other group received the same dose of vitamin C for 10 weeks, placebo for 10 weeks, and vitamin C at the same dose for 10 more weeks. During each 10-week period, behaviors were scored by trained behavior raters who did not know what treatment the children had received. Social, emotional, sensory, and language behaviors were scored. The authors found a significant improvement in total behavior scores after vitamin C treatment followed placebo treatment, and a significant worsening of these scores after vitamin C treatment was stopped and placebo was taken for 10 weeks.

Altered Vascular Phenotype in Autism: Correlation with Oxidative Stress

scottie — Sun, 22 Oct 2006 02:13:20 +0000

Title	Altered Vascular Phenotype in Autism: Correlation with Oxidative Stress
Publication Type	Journal Article
Authors	Yao Y, Walsh WJ, McGinnis WR, Pratico D
Journal Title	Arch Neurol.
Year of Publication	2006
Volume	63
Issue	8
Pages	1161-1164
URL for Abstract	http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=16908745&query_hl=1&itool=pubmed_docsum
Full Text	This article suggests that autism may be associated with oxidative stress as well as changes in blood circulation. It is already known that children with autism are likely to have more oxidative stress, or difficulty in managing free radicals, than children who do not have autism. It is also known that children with autism have unusual blood circulation. The authors of this study set out to determine if these facts could be biologically linked to one another. To do so, they tested the urine of 26 children with autism and 12 controls (ages not given) for biomarkers of oxidative stress (isoprostane) as well as two biomarkers for abnormal blood cells and blood flow. They found that the children with autism had significantly higher levels of all three biomarkers than the controls. They also found a significant correlation between the level of isoprostane and the levels of the two biomarkers for abnormal blood cells and blood flow, suggesting that there is a link between oxidative stress and changes in blood circulation in children with autism.

Increased Excretion of a Lipid Peroxidation Biomarker in Autism

scottie — Sun, 22 Oct 2006 02:09:27 +0000

Title	Increased Excretion of a Lipid Peroxidation Biomarker in Autism
Publication Type	Journal Article
Authors	Ming X, Stein TP, Brimacombe M, Johnson WG, Lambert GH, Wagner GC
Journal Title	Prostaglandins, Leukotrienes and Essential Fatty Acids
Year of Publication	2005
Volume	73
Pages	379-384
URL for Abstract	http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Search&db=pubmed&term=ming+AND+stein+AND+oxidative&tool=fuzzy&ot=Ming+AND+Stein+AND+ixidative
Full Text	This article suggests that autism may be associated with oxidative stress that results from difficulties in managing free radicals in the body. The authors tested 33 children with autism (ages not given) and 29 controls for biomarkers for oxidative stress. They report that children with autism had a biomarker for oxidative stress (isoprostane) that was significantly higher than in controls. This biomarker shows that cell membranes in the body and/or brain are likely to have been damaged by free radicals. The authors conclude that children with autism may be genetically more likely to develop oxidative stress, supporting the use of anti-oxidants such as vitamin C in autism.

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.

Healing Thresholds Autism Therapy Topic Feed

Vitamin C Therapy for Children with Autism

What is it?

What's it like?

What is the theory behind it?

Does it work?

Is it harmful?

Cost

Resources

References

What is it?

Table of Contents

Weekly Music Therapy May Have Benefits for Kids on the Autism Spectrum

Treatment Controversies in Autism

Immune-Glutamatergic Dysfunction as a Central Mechanism of the Autism Spectrum Disorders

Bone Pain, Growth Failure, and Skin Rash After an Upper Respiratory Illness in a Boy with Autism: Possible Associations with Altered Retinoid Metabolism

A Preliminary Trial of Ascorbic Acid as Supplemental Therapy for Autism

Altered Vascular Phenotype in Autism: Correlation with Oxidative Stress

Increased Excretion of a Lipid Peroxidation Biomarker in Autism

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

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