LDN and Autism

[Guest guest]

Friends of ours have an autistic child and they are now looking into

LDN after I heard from another friend that there is evidence to

suggest autism is auto immune. The boy is nearly 6. They also have a

2 year old with possible autism. I know Dr Bihari has a 6 year old on

LDN with MD .. I am wondering if anyone here has a child on LDN and

could tell me about their experience.

Any thoughts?

All the Best

This is one of the things I found on autism .. very interesting ..

V.K. Singh has studied autism as an autoimmune disorder for over

fifteen years. He believes that up to eighty percent (and possibly

all) cases of autism are caused by an abnormal immune reaction,

commonly known as autoimmunity. The autoimmune process in autism

results from a complex interaction between the immune system and the

nervous system. He hypothesizes that an auto-immune reaction to basic

brain structures, especially the myelin sheath, plays a critical role

in causing the neurological impairments of patients with autism. He

has suggested that an immune insult to developing myelin (after a

natural infection or vaccination) causes " nicks " or small changes in

the myelin sheath. These changes ultimately lead to life-long

disturbances of higher mental functions such as learning, memory,

communication, social interaction, etc.1

A disease is sometimes referred to as " autoimmune " when the etiology

and pathogenesis is not well known or established. Autoimmunity is an

abnormal immune reaction in which the immune system becomes primed to

react against body organs, and the end result is autoimmune disease.

Several factors contribute to the pathogenic mechanism of autoimmune

diseases. These illnesses are commonly believed to be triggered by

infectious agents; further, they are generally linked to genes that

control immune responses. They cause immune abnormalities of T

lymphocytes (one type of white blood cell); they induce the

production of autoantibodies; they involve hormonal factors; and they

generally show a gender preference.

This is also the case with autism: several autoimmune factors have

been identified in patients with autism, suggesting the pathogenetic

role of autoimmunity in autism. Some generalities regarding the

genetics and immunology of autism are below:

Autism displays increased frequency of genetic factors for immune

responses, e.g., HLA, C4B null allele and extended haplotypes. Autism

involves a gender factor, i.e., it affects males about four times

more than females. Autism often occurs in conjunction with a family

history of autoimmune diseases, e.g., multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid

arthritis, etc. Autism also involves hormonal factors, e.g.,

secretin, beta-endorphin, etc. Autism shows an association with

infectious agents, in particular, viruses. Autistic patients have

immune abnormalities, especially those that characterize an

autoimmune reaction in a disease. Autistic patients also respond well

to immune therapies.