Oxytocin receptors/OXTR gene

[Guest guest]

Is there a test or way to determine antibodies to Oxytocin receptors? Or has

someone found out up or down regulation of OXTR gene in children.

I think in some extreme cases the gene has been missing - wondering if some

social deficits are due to it being down regulated due to non-genetic reasons.

[Guest guest]

That's one thought, but on the list, we're coming from a very different

paradigm than the immune system (which is definitely dysfunction) actually

attacking it's own brain (autoantibodies being present isn't necessarily the

end-all like we would think they are).  I think that's why in a previous post

on

PANDAS, one parent had noted that they (Swedo group at Hopkins? Some labs?

Didn't quite catch who) had dropped one of the labs testing for the

autoantibodies probably because it was showing not to be a big factor in the

illness. 

I'd love to help change the perspective of looking for reasons the body is

attacking itself, and instead look at some of the similarities to some other

illnesses.  CFIDS is the closest, and varies far across the board in severity

and which symptoms are prominent.  And the majority of what we learned about

CFIDS - including the cognitive dysfunction - maybe especially - came from

research in AIDS. 

AIDS patients develop a dementia associated with their illness (but can be

independent of other infections curiously enough - and a big clue), and there is

documentation of that being resolved!  There are actually several serious

illnesses where in some animal models and in some cases patients themselves, the

belief that damage is responsible for their problems are becoming questioned

because there have been some experiences of drastic recoveries that couldn't

happen if there had been actual damage.  If my brain fog wasn't so bad this

week, I could list them.  Maybe some other parents would post them.  When I

can,

I'll start listing them, or find where I may have done it before.  It's

staggering.  One, in a rat model, a gene defect was corrected, and the rat

spontaneously started developing.  There's the possibility the CP and some

premie development problems, birth injuries, etc has nothing to do with oxygen

deprivation causing damage as previously thought, but possibly that viruses have

a chance to go crazy, proliferate under the stress on the brain during oxygen

dep, and set up glial/microglial, multiple immune activation that lasts.  And

there has been at least one case study (I have no idea if I can find them right

now) published where a 'brain damaged' child had to be treated with antivirals

and suddenly made drastic improvements.

Most of all, if you compare children with HIV:  there are suggestions that

monitoring speech and language is one of the markers to use to determine if a

child w/HIV should be put on antiretrovirals.  If they begin regressing or

losing speech, or they don't progress at the same rate as they were, that's a

red flag.  Then when you treat them, their symptoms resolve - sometimes

completely.  Lots of documentation of children w/HIV developing symptoms of

autism  - all of them -, and when they are treated with antivirals,

experiencing

significant measurable improvement, and sometimes complete recovery.  There's

documentation of kids w/Mono encephalities developing what appears to be exactly

like autism at age 11 (ish - can't remember exact age) - I've seen at least two

of those case studies. 

Then there's PANDAS.  I've lived that enough to know that it's not 'static' ...

there are times I seem so damaged I'll never be ok again, and a year later, I

can barely remember what it was like to be in the severe state I was in.  (I'm

remembering right now, 'cause I've been skating around the edge of that by

failing to treat my anxiety recently.)

In a lot of that research, they pay a lot of attention to cytokines &

chemokines.  These are signalling so many other pathways that they - combined

with the effects some of the infections likewise have on the body - may account

for the majority if not all of the symptoms of the cognitive dysfunction, even

the abnormal findings in vitamin/nutrient levels, hormones, etc etc.  I don't

think oxytocin and it's receptors are destroyed ... I think they're not

functioning well in their current environment and probably haven't developed as

many because of reduced activity.  I think if the illness could be addressed,

the brain is fully capable of picking up and starting to make a lot of these

things start working again.

Wow, about XMRV... I've paid a lot of attention to the similarities of autism to

AIDS related symptoms since I ever first learned about .  If it turns out a

retrovirus is playing a big part in this, omg it could be the final piece of the

picture.

I don't want any of that to sound like I'm disputing your interest or your

research.  I personally am not in a place where I can think of the damage right

now - only the possibilties.  And I've seen my kids improve so much it's not

even funny.  Marcia on the list tells me that when her kid was my son's age

(mine are 11 & 9), he still had issues with social skills and some wierd

behavior.  I personally couldn't have imagined them as well as they are right

now.  When I'm distressed at how much more improvement I want to see, I

remember

that her son was here where mine are and that I still have time.  If it was

about damage, or rather if I believed it was about damage, I don't know how I

could hold up my optimism and get thru the next day.  Thank you Marcia.

Even autoantibodies have been stopped in some illnesses....

HTH,

 

________________________________

From: Kay <kp_mlist@...>

MB12 Valtrex <mb12 valtrex >; " taca-usa "

<taca-usa >;

Sent: Sat, September 18, 2010 1:10:01 PM

Subject: Oxytocin receptors/OXTR gene

 

Is there a test or way to determine antibodies to Oxytocin receptors? Or has

someone found out up or down regulation of OXTR gene in children.

I think in some extreme cases the gene has been missing - wondering if some

social deficits are due to it being down regulated due to non-genetic reasons.