Research summaries for autism therapy: vitamin C (ascorbic acid)

definition of vitamin C (ascorbic acid): Vitamin C is an essential vitamin, which means it can only be obtained through the diet. It is found in many fruits and vegetables.
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Treatment Controversies in Autism, Summarized Mar 17, 2009

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. Read more...

Immune-Glutamatergic Dysfunction as a Central Mechanism of the Autism Spectrum Disorders, Summarized Mar 10, 2009

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.... Read more...

Bone Pain, Growth Failure, and Skin Rash After an Upper Respiratory Illness in a Boy with Autism: Possible Associations with Altered Retinoid Metabolism, Summarized Feb 13, 2009

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. Read more...

A Preliminary Trial of Ascorbic Acid as Supplemental Therapy for Autism, Summarized Oct 21, 2006

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.... Read more...

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Synonyms for vitamin C (ascorbic acid) include: ascorbic acid, C, vitamin C
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