Is Autism Related to CFS and Fibromyalgia?

[Guest guest]

Is Autism Related to CFS and Fibromyalgia?

By Teitelbaum, M.D. on 07/06/2011

Many specialists who work with autism as well as CFS and fibromyalgia — myself

included — find that there is a major overlap between the three conditions.

I suspect all three have related underlying processes and, given a specific

genetic makeup, the very same processes that trigger CFS and fibromyalgia in

adults can trigger autism in children.Because of this overlap, I've also been

involved in research on helping children with autism.

Autism is a brain function disorder that results in impaired social interaction,

difficulty with communication, and restricted and repetitive behavior. These

symptoms start before a child is three years old and affect four times as many

boys as girls. It can be very severe, or in milder forms called Autism Spectrum

Disorder (e.g., Asperger Syndrome). Like CFS and fibromyalgia, the prevalence of

autism is skyrocketing and is currently present in almost 1% of our nation's

children!

Acetyl L-Carnitine Improves Autism

VA new study (1) sheds light on the relationship between these disorders by

showing that a nutrient called L-carnitine, which regulates energy production

and is helpful in treating CFS/FMS (referring to the " acetyl " variety of

L-carnitine — see Acetyl L-Carnitine for CFS and Fibromyalgia), can also help

treat autism.

Study Findings

The study was conducted by researchers at the Institute of Chronic Illnesses in

Silver Spring, land. They treated 30 children with ASD. The children were

divided into two groups, with one group being given a daily dose of 50 mg of

L-carnitine for every kilogram of body weight (e.g., a 60-pound child would have

taken 1,364 mg of L-carnitine a day) while the other group was given a placebo.

After three months, the children taking L-carnitine had " significant

improvements " in the severity of ASD, reported the researchers in Medical

Science Monitor.

Improvement was measured in several ways and included improved scores on the

Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS), which rates children on their ability to

relate to people, body use, adaptation to change, listening response, and verbal

communication; and on the Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist, which evaluates

children on speech/language/communication, sociability, sensory/cognitive

awareness, and health/physical behavior. (You can download the checklist from

the Autism Research Institute website.)

The researchers also linked higher blood levels of carnitine to hand muscle

strength, cognitive scores, and CARS scores.

Another remarkable option for autism is a special acupressure technique called

NAET, which eliminates food sensitivities. After seeing a young autistic girl go

from nonverbal to being a chatterbox with this treatment, we explored the

treatment further — and found this type of remarkable result was common.

Our foundation then funded a study in which I was the lead author using NAET in

autism. By the end of one year (100 simple treatments), 23 of the 30 autistic

children in the treatment group were back in regular schools (as opposed to none

of the 30 in the untreated control group). The study has been accepted for

publication (due October 2011). For more information, and to find over 12,000

NAET practitioners worldwide, visit NAET.

Reference:

[1] " A prospective double-blind, randomized clinical trial of levocarnitine to

treat autism spectrum disorders " (abstract), The Institute of Chronic Illnesses,

Inc., Silver Spring, MD, U.S.A. and CoMeD, Inc., Silver Spring, MD. PMID:

21629200 [PubMed]

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Click to add comment.About the author

Teitelbaum MD is medical director of the Fibromyalgia and Fatigue Centers

nationally, author of the popular free iPhone application " Cures A-Z " , and

author of the best-selling book From Fatigued to Fantastic! (3rd revised

edition, Avery/Penguin Group) and Pain Free 1-2-3—A Proven Program for

Eliminating Chronic Pain Now (McGraw- Hill). His newest book is Beat Sugar

Addiction NOW! (Fairwinds Press; March 2010).

Dr. Teitelbaum knows Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Fibromyalgia (CFS/FMS) as an

insider -- he contracted CFS when he was in medical school and had to drop out

for a year to recover. In the ensuing 25 years, he dedicated his career to

finding effective treatments and the programs he has developed have now helped

tens of thousands of sufferers reclaim the vitality CFS/FMS once robbed from

their lives.

For more information on how Dr. T.'s methods can help you visit his website

Vitality101.com.

Dr. Teitelbaum does frequent media appearances including Good Morning America,

CNN, Fox News Channel, the Dr Oz Show and Oprah & Friends. He lives in Kona,

Hawaii.

[Guest guest]

zahavi100@...,

good find! thank you.

> Is Autism Related to CFS and Fibromyalgia?

> The nutrient L-carnitine appears effective in treating all three

> Teitelbaum, MD in Complementary Medicine

> June 30, 2011

>

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/complementary-medicine/201106/is-autism-rela\

ted-cfs-and-fibromyalgia

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