Autism and schizophrenia linked to faults in same genes: Study

[n2doc]

BY RANDY SHORE,

METRO VANCOUVER – Simon Fraser University researchers have found that autism and schizophrenia are both caused by faults in the same set of genes, raising hopes that an effective test or treatment for one may be adapted for use on the other.

The finding is a radical departure from conventional medical thinking about the two disorders as separate and distinct illnesses, according to evolutionary biologist Bernard Crespi, but it opens the door to new avenues of research into the cause and potential cure for each.

Crespi and his co-authors, Philip Stead and Michael Elliot, now believe that autism and schizophrenia are related but opposite illnesses, each caused by anomalies in the same places in the human genome, our genetic blueprint.

Knowing where to look in the genome could help scientists identify which of the dozens of gene mutations that can lead to autism and schizophrenia are peculiar to both. Researchers hope that treatments can then be tailored very specifically and exploited, in different ways, to treat both disorders.

"It’s just like what people are actually doing now with cancer," Crespi explained. By identifying certain receptors on cancer cells, drug treatment can be designed to target them specifically.

"In principle, something very similar can be done with autism and schizophrenia," he opined.

http://www.canada.com/technology/science/Autism+schizophrenia+linked+faults+same+genes+Study/2298342/story.html

[pnwmom]

1. At one point, autism was known as "childhood schizophrenia."

And then that view was discarded.

Interesting.

Someday they will also probably find out why both conditions are linked to a higher risk of Celiac disease (gluten-intolerance).

[truedelphi]

4. I am willing to bet that when the science community talks about the

Link between some autistic and/or schizoid individuals having Celiac disease, it will then be pointed out that the inability of those individuals to digest the wheat and thus the wheat flour's undigested elements coat the stomach and intestinal lining. And this coating prevents important nutrients from entering the blood.

Then the brain is getting malnourished blood rather than blood that has optimum nutrition.

Naturopathic physicians already make statements like that, but they lack the funding from big industry to "prove" it. (In California, a naturopathic doctor must have completed all required course work for medical school, and additionally a certain number of courses that are specific for the naturopathic designation.)

[trotsky]

5. If a child's "autism" is "cured" by treating Celiac disease,

then they never had autism in the first place. The malnutrition caused by digestive issues like Celiac can result in significant developmental delays, and the symptoms can strongly resemble autism, but they are NOT the same as autism.

That's where the "naturopaths" go all woo, when they start making statements like autism can be cured by diet modifications.

[truedelphi]

9. You misread my post - or perhaps I was not clear enough

Rather I was suggesting that the undiagnosed Celiac Disease paved the way for the autism.

[trotsky]

11. No, it didn't "pave the way."

Autism and Celiac disease are two completely different things. As I said, undiagnosed Celiac can lead to autism-like symptoms, but that's not the same as autism. You can have a very sore and swollen ankle that you can't put any weight on, and those are the symptoms of a broken ankle, but you could just have a sprain.

[truedelphi]

12. When you have spent 2 hours talking to Ron Harper of the UCLA school of mediciane

the UCLA school of mediciane about how one physical impairment can trigger another, and that new thing can have a life of its own, get back to me.

(Harper is a leading researcher in children's brain development.)

[trotsky]

13. Uh huh. Sure.

And Dr. Harper specifically said that Celiac disease *causes* autism? Really? Can you provide a cite?

[HysteryDiagnosis]

6. Beta Casmorphin.... and the inability to digest it leaves the body

with morphine clones that link up on receptors in the human brain. This is old news that isn't spoken of much.... I wonder why.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1999/03/990316103010.htm

GAINESVILLE, Fla.---Findings from two novel animal studies indicate autism and schizophrenia may be linked to an individual’s inability to properly break down a protein found in milk, University of Florida researchers report in this month’s issue of the journal Autism.

The digestive problem might actually lead to the disorders’ symptoms, whose basis has long been debated, said UF physiologist Dr. J. Robert Cade, cautioning that further research must take place before scientists have a definitive answer. When not broken down, the milk protein produces exorphins, morphine-like compounds that are then taken up by areas of the brain known to be involved in autism and schizophrenia, where they cause cells to dysfunction.

The animal findings suggest an intestinal flaw, such as a malfunctioning enzyme, is to blame, says Cade, whose team also is putting the theory to the test in humans. Preliminary findings from that study – which showed 95 percent of 81 autistic and schizophrenic children studied had 100 times the normal levels of the milk protein in their blood and urine – have been presented at two international meetings in the past year but have not yet been published.

When these children were put on a milk-free diet, at least eight out of 10 no longer had symptoms of autism or schizophrenia, says Cade, a professor of medicine and physiology at UF’s College of Medicine and inventor of the Gatorade sports drink. His research team includes research scientist Dr. Zhongjie Sun and research associate R. Malcolm Privette.

“We now have proof positive that these proteins are getting into the blood and proof positive they’re getting into areas of the brain involved with the symptoms of autism and schizophrenia,” Cade said.

[truedelphi]

10. Thank you for that link.

That article is good information, and the whole site is an excellent reference as well.

[mzmolly]

2. Fascinating.

Thanks for sharing. :hi:

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

3. Thanks for posting this.

[wuvuj]

7. ortho-molecular treament?

or⋅tho⋅mo⋅lec⋅u⋅lar

–adjective

being or pertaining to the treatment of disease by increasing, decreasing, or otherwise controlling the intake of natural substances, esp. vitamins.

a long standing treatment for schizophrenia....many have wheat gluten issues...sugar/insulin....etc


http://www.lef.org/LEFCMS/aspx/PrintVersionMagic.aspx?CmsID=115260


Autism: A Nutraceutical Approach
By Julius G. Goepp, MD

More than 60 years after it was first identified, the diagnosis and treatment of autism remain challenging. This severe disability is on the rise in the United States and other industrialized countries, with rates from two to five times what they were in 1990.1 This statistic has prompted many concerned parents, physicians, and other health care providers to characterize the dramatic increase in autism as an epidemic.2,3

Despite the widespread prevalence of autism, numerous theories regarding its causes are undergoing debate within the medical community. At this time, treatment options for the condition are varied, as physicians strive to develop a standardized, results-oriented protocol.

Research has revealed that specific nutrients may play a key role in managing autism. In this innovative report, we present the latest scientific studies in which nutritional therapies have demonstrated benefits in combating this stubborn disease.
The Epidemic of Autism

Today, more families than even before are affected by the devastating conditions of autism and its related disorders. These puzzling conditions manifest during early childhood, producing social separation or aloofness, language delays, and impaired socialization skills.3,4

Mainstream approaches such as pharmaceuticals have failed to effectively manage autism. In the words of noted autism researcher and integrative medicine advocate Parris Kidd, PhD, “Conventional medicine has largely failed autistic individuals and their families.”5
Possible Causes of Autism

The failure of conventional medicine to cure autism may arise from the complexity of the condition itself. Physicians and scientists are still debating the very cause of autism, which remains a subject of much controversy.

Emerging theories suggest that there may be no single, fundamental cause of autism, but that it may instead represent a cluster of factors involving genes, inflammation, impaired gastrointestinal health, increased oxidative stress, diminished ability to neutralize toxins, autoimmune processes, and decreased mitochondrial function.3,6-10 Other proposed triggers of autism include vaccine preservatives and food additives.5,11-13
Integrative Approaches to Autism

In the words of Parris Kidd, PhD, “Fortunately, because of unprecedented collaboration between activist parents, progressive physicians, researchers, and allied health workers, autism has emerged as a model of successful integrative medicine.”5

Several coordinated approaches to autism are emerging from the bewildering amount of information that has accumulated in the past decade. These approaches focus on:

*

Dietary modification to heal the gut and reduce exposure to external toxins
*

Supplying nutritional supplements that boost the body’s antioxidant and other detoxification systems
*

Eliminating known contamination with highly toxic substances such as mercury, while providing nutritional support during this biologically stressful process.

Although all treatments for autism should be administered in partnership with skilled physicians and other health care professionals, certain basic steps that are known to be effective and safe should be started as early as possible.
Dietary Modification: Healing the Gut

The majority of children with autism have impaired gastrointestinal health.3 Since more than half of the immune system develops and resides in the gut, where it neutralizes infectious microbes, the consequences of poor gut health can be serious indeed. The gastrointestinal tract is also essential in digesting foods, absorbing nutrients, and preventing toxic agents from reaching the circulation—functions that may often be impaired in autistic individuals. Children with autism almost always require special attention to the status of their gut health to keep these essential processes in good working order.

more.............

[laconicsax]

8. I just read a dreadfully boring book about this

The Imprinted Brain by Christopher Badcock caught my eye in the bookstore a couple days ago and I read through most of it in about an hour. The author of this study (Crespi) has a glowing editorial review of the book on the Amazon product page.

While largely speculative and incredibly boring, it did predict what this study found--that the same genes are involved in both autism and schizophrenia.

[xchrom]

14. kick

[wuvuj]

15. This is your brain on wheat...

http://heartscanblog.blogspot.com/2009/12/this-is-your-brain-on-wheat.html


Here's just a smattering of the studies performed over the past 30 years on the psychological effects of wheat consumption.

Oddly, this never makes the popular press. But wheat underlies schizophrenia, bipolar illness, behavioral outbursts in autism, Huntington's disease, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).


The relationship is especially compelling with schizophrenia:

Opioid peptides derived from food proteins: The exorphins.
Zioudrou C et al 1979

"Wheat gluten has been implicated by Dohan and his colleagues in the etiology of schizophrenia and supporting evidence has been provided by others. Our experiments provide a plausible biochemical mechanism for such a role, in the demonstration of the conversion of gluten into peptides with potential central nerovus system actions."


Wheat gluten as a pathogenic factor in schizophrenia
Singh MM et al 1976

"Schizophrenics maintained on a cereal grain-free and milk-free diet and receiving optimal treatment with neuropleptics showed an interruption or reversal of their therapeutic progress during a period of "blind" wheat gluten challenge. The exacerbation of the disease process was not due to variations in neuroleptic doses. After termination of the gluten challenge, the course of improvement was reinstated. The observed effects seemed to be due to a primary schizophrenia-promoting effect of wheat gluten."


Demonstration of high opioid-like activity in isolated peptides from wheat gluten hydrolysates

Huebner FR et al 1984


Is schizophrenia rare if grain is rare?
Dohan FC et al 1984

"Epidemiologic studies demonstrated a strong, dose-dependent relationship between grain intake and the occurrence of schizophrenia."