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University of Florida Researchers Cite

Possible Link Between Autism,

Schizophrenia And Diet

By Fridl Ross

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. 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.

More than 500,000 Americans have some form of autism,

according to the

Autism Society of America. The developmental

disability typically appears

during the first three years of life and is

characterized by problems interacting

and communicating with others. Many individuals

exhibit repeated body

movements such as hand-flapping or rocking and may

resist changes in

routine. In some cases, they may display aggressive

or self-injurious behavior.

Schizophrenia is noted for disturbances in thinking,

emotional reaction and

behavior and is the most common form of psychotic

illness. More than 2

million Americans suffer from it, according to the

National Institute of Mental

Health. People with schizophrenia often hear internal

voices not heard by

others, or believe others are reading their minds,

controlling their thoughts or

plotting to harm them. In addition, their speech and

behavior can be so

disorganized that they may be incomprehensible or

frightening to others.

In the UF studies, researchers injected rats with the

protein beta-

casomorphin-7, one of the key constituents of milk

and the part that

coagulates to make cheese. They then observed their

behavior and later

examined brain tissue to see whether the substances

accumulated there.

Beta-casomorphin-7 was taken up by 32 different areas

of the brain, Cade

said, including sections responsible for vision,

hearing and communication.

" This could explain several of the things one sees in

autism and schizophrenia,

such as hallucinations, " he said. " If part of the

brain puts out a false signal

because of casomorphin, it could result in the person

seeing something that's

not really there; either a visual or auditory

hallucination could occur.

" There are a whole number of behaviors that the rat

has after

beta-casomorphin-7 that are basically the same as one

sees in the human with

autism or schizophrenia, " he added. " If we ring a

bell beside a rat's cage, it

normally looks up to see where the noise is coming

from. But the rats after

beta-casomorphin-7 didn't do that - they were

completely oblivious to the

bell-ringing above them. This struck us as

interesting because many mothers of

autistic children comment that they seem at times to

be totally deaf -- they talk

to their children and they just don't seem to hear

them. "

Researchers suspect the process begins in the

intestine, where the body

absorbs the protein when a person eats foods

containing it.

" We think this process is linked to the production of

antibodies in the gut

when you eat something you're sensitive to, " Cade

said. " Both schizophrenics

and autistics have a high incidence of [certain]

antibodies, and a high incidence

of diarrhea, which points to an intestinal disorder.

So we think that with autism

and schizophrenia, the basic disorder is in the

intestine, and these individuals

are absorbing beta-casomorphin-7 that they normally

should break down in

the body as amino acids, rather than peptide chains

up to 12 amino acids

long. "

--------------------------------------- Recent UF

Health Science Center

news releases are available at

http://www.health.ufl.edu/hscc/index.html

The UF Health Science Center topic/expert list is

available at

http://www.health.ufl.edu/hscc/experts.html

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