Aberrant Immune Response Seen in Autism
I have seen many children diagnosed with conditions like autism, ADD and ADHD that begin the morning with enough sugar to stagger the mind. Many of these patients do not think for one instant that what a child eats can have an effect on the mental performance. I think this article illustrates nicely that there are alterations in some autistic children that can be either addressed or made worse by lifestyle choices.
Experimental Biology 2001 Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) produce higher levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines than children without autism, researchers announced Monday at the Experimental Biology 2001 meeting in Orlando, Florida. Dr. Harumi Jyonouchi of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis and colleagues analyzed the immune responses of 83 children with ASD, between 2 and 17 years old, compared with a group of healthy matched controls. The researchers measured the levels of TNF-alpha, IL-4, IL-5 and IL-10 in the subjects before and after exposure to low doses of endotoxin. “More than three-quarters of the ASD children produced higher levels of at least one of the pro-inflammatory cytokines compared with controls,” Dr. Jyonouchi told Reuters Health. These differences were evident both with and without endotoxin exposure, she added. The researchers also found that “75% to 80% of these children have T-cell reactivity to dietary proteins including soy, milk, and wheat,” Dr. Jyonouchi said. “If their response to endotoxins is dysregulated, children with ASD may be predisposed to other adverse reactions to foods, bacteria, and vaccines, and may have an increased risk for autoimmune reactions,” Dr. Jyonouchi explained. She noted that these children may also require a longer time to recover from such exposures. “This is scientific data supporting parents’ claims that autistic children may get sicker from colds and flu and are more sensitive to dietary proteins,” Dr. Jyonouchi said.