Research

A recent research report suggests that children ages 3-8 on the autism spectrum may benefit from zinc supplementation. In this 2019 study, 30 patients were treated with zinc supplementation and evaluated. The data suggests an increase in cognitive-motor performance and an increase3d serum metallothionein concentration as well as a significant lowering of circulating serum levels of copper.

Is depression really only about the psychological symptoms you feel? In a study completed in May 2014, researchers found that five major depression biotypes represented roughly 95% of the 2,800 patients that were part of the research study. Those biotypes included:

• Undermethylation 38% of patients reporting depression, anxiety, OCD tendencies, perfectionism, and a positive response to SSRI antidepressants. Undermethylation of chromatin has also been associated with excessive gene expression of SERT and increased serotonin reuptake.
• Folate deficiency represented 20% of patients reporting high anxiety, sleep problems, food and chemical sensitivities, intolerance to SSRIs, and benefits from folate therapy or benzodiazapines.
• 17% of depression patients exhibited elevated serum copper. Most (95%) of this group were females and had a high incidence of post-partum depression, estrogen intolerance, tinnitus, and skin sensitivity.
• 15% of patients exhibited pyrrole disorder and reported extreme mood swings, fears, anger explosions, poor short-term memory, partial improvements from SSRIs, and benefits from zinc and B-6.
• The smallest group 5% involved overloads of lead, mercury, or other toxic metals.

This study emphasizes and supports the importance of advanced nutrient therapy, functional medicine, and more.

A review of the Boston Area Community Health (BACH) survey reported higher odds of depression symptoms in women (but not in men) for those with low zinc intakes. It’s believed that zinc could (and we believe does) play a role for some individuals in preventing or alleviating depression symptoms. Two additional studies have been completed that show some therapeutic response to zinc in the treatment of depression for some adults – specifically in the first 12 weeks of treatment.

Beyond the treatment of depression, the Linus Pauling Institute’s Micronutrient Information Center has provided a great deal of research regarding the importance of Zinc as an essential mineral needed by the body for a number of functions.

Growing evidence suggests that immune dysregulation is associated with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). One immunomodulatory treatment that has been studied in ASD is intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIG). This systematic review and meta-analysis examined the studies which assessed immunoglobulin G (IgG) concentrations and the therapeutic use of IVIG for individuals with ASD. Six studies reported improvements in seizures with IVIG (including patients with refractory seizures), with one study reporting a worsening of seizures when IVIG was stopped. Other studies demonstrated improvements in recurrent infections, appetite, weight gain, neuropathy, dysautonomia, and gastrointestinal symptoms.

Several compounds are under development that address both underlying pathophysiological abnormalities and core autism spectrum disorders (ASD) symptoms. This article reviews one of these treatments, leucovorin calcium (also known as folinic acid) for treatment of folate pathway abnormalities in children with ASD.

Here we underwent a systematic review of the literature on autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to identify promising biomarkers and rated the biomarkers in regards to a Level of Evidence and Grade of Recommendation using the Oxford Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine scale. Biomarkers identified by our review included physiological biomarkers that identify neuroimmune and metabolic abnormalities, neurological biomarkers including abnormalities in brain structure, function and neurophysiology, subtle behavioral biomarkers including atypical development of visual attention, genetic biomarkers and gastrointestinal biomarkers. Biomarkers of ASD may be found prior to birth and after diagnosis and some may predict response to specific treatments.

This book dives into the therapeutic use of N-Acetylcysteine (NAC) in medicine and its application in treating individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD).

The etiology of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) likely involves environmental factors triggering physiological abnormalities in genetically sensitive individuals. One of these major physiological abnormalities is mitochondrial dysfunction, which may affect a significant subset of children with ASD. Here we systematically review the literature on human studies of mitochondrial dysfunction related to ASD.

In this paper we review some of the pathophysiological abnormalities associated with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and their potential associated treatments. Overall, there is evidence for some children with ASD being affected by seizure and epilepsy, neurotransmitter dysfunction, sleep disorders, metabolic abnormalities, including abnormalities in folate, cobalamin, tetrahydrobiopterin, carnitine, redox and mitochondrial metabolism, and immune and gastrointestinal disorders. Although evidence for an association between these pathophysiological abnormalities and ASD exists, the exact relationship to the etiology of ASD and its associated symptoms remains to be further defined in many cases.

This book on discussed psychiatric disorders and potential treatments. Within it is research documenting the impact of hyperbaric oxygen treatment in autism spectrum disorders (ASD). It also contains research on mitochondrial physiology in psychiatric disorders such as ASD.

A number of novel medications, which have not been approved by the FDA to treat autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have been used off-label in some studies to treat ASD symptoms, including medications approved for Alzheimer’s disease. Interestingly, some of these studies are high-quality, double-blind, placebo-controlled (DBPC) studies. This article systematically reviews studies published through April, 2014, which examined the use of Alzheimer’s medications in ASD and their impact.

This review provides evidence for potentially safe and effective treatments for core and associated symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) that target underlying known physiological abnormalities associated with ASD. Further research is needed to define subgroups of children with ASD in which these treatments may be most effective as well as confirm their efficacy in double-blind, placebo-controlled, large-scale multicenter studies.