Wheat Protein Can Trigger Severe Headaches/ Brain Cells & Gene Therapy

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" Healing Autism: No Finer a Cause on the Planet "

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February 12, 2001 Search www.feat.org/search/news.asp

Also: * Brain Cell Connections Restored With Gene Therapy

* MMR Uptake Figures Plateau in UK

* 100 + NY Legislators “Educated” by ACES, Bauman

* Caregiver Shortage Hitting Disabled Hard

* Autistic Boy Killed Baby Brother, UK

* Japan's Ape Sequencing to Unravel Brain's Secrets

Wheat Protein Can Trigger Severe Headaches

[scans suggest inflammation in the central nervous system. Results

appear consistent with the Gluten/Casein Theory and Autism. See reprint

following this article.]

http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20010212/hl/wheat_1.html

Reuters Health - According to the results of a small new study, some

people may experience migraine headaches due to an otherwise harmless

culprit: wheat.

The investigators found that limiting gluten--a protein found in wheat

and other grains--reduced symptoms of severe headache in seven out of nine

patients.

The patients were all found to have a sensitivity to gluten, which

results in a heightened immune responsiveness triggered by the protein,

according to the report published in the February issue of Neurology.

Gluten sensitivity can include celiac disease, an inherited inability

to digest gluten that results in abdominal distention, vomiting, diarrhea,

muscle wasting and lethargy. Other conditions can also develop, including

neurological problems or dermatitis herpetiformis--blister-like lesions on

the elbows, buttocks and knees, the report indicates. The only treatment is

strict avoidance of certain foods.

In the new study, Dr. s Hadjivassiliou, from the Royal

Hallamshire Hospital in Sheffield, UK, and colleagues looked at 10 patients

who had a long history of headaches that had recently worsened or became

resistant to treatment. Many of the patients also had a lack of balance or

unsteadiness.

Tests showed that these patients had a sensitivity to gluten, and

magnetic resonance imaging scans suggested they had inflammation in the

central nervous system.

Nine of the 10 patients tried a gluten-free diet, and seven stopped

having headaches. Two other patients had some--but not complete--success by

switching to a gluten-free diet. One patient did not follow the diet.

“If the results of the current study are confirmed, removal of the

trigger factor by the early introduction of gluten-free diet may be a

promising therapeutic intervention,” Hadjivassiliou and colleagues write.

“Further studies of the effect of gluten-free diet are needed to

confirm these preliminary findings,” the researchers conclude.

SOURCE: Neurology 2001;56:385-388

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A Look at Gluten/Casein Theories and Autism

[This summary is written and maintained by Mehl-Madrona, M.D.,

Ph.D., Medical Director of The Center for Complementary Medicine. Email

coyotemd@... Other theory of autism summaries are also available

at this website:

http://www.healing-arts.org/children/ .]

Gluten/Casein Theory and Autism

Dr. Shattock, of Sunderland, England is doing work on the casein

free/gluten free diet connections to autism and is studying the development

of caso-morphine and gluteo-morphine in autistic children. In some

individuals who cannot metabolize gluten, a-gliadin is produced. The body

cannot metabolize A-gliadin, which binds to opiod receptors C & D. These

receptors are associated with mood and behavior disturbances. A strict

gluten and casein-free diet does appear to reduce the level of opioid

peptides and improve autism for some people. The earlier the implementation

of the diet, the better the chance of recovery.

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* * *

Brain Cell Connections Restored With Gene Therapy

Alzheimer’s patients sought for human clinical trials

http://www.eurekalert.org/releases/ucsd-usr020801.html

In new research that builds upon previous work with atrophied brain

cells, UCSD School of Medicine researchers have found that essential brain

fibers that shrivel up and disappear in aged monkeys can be restored to

normal levels with infusion of tissue that has been genetically altered to

produce nerve growth factor (NGF), a naturally occurring substance found in

all vertebrate animals.

Like telephone wires, these fibers, called axons, are vital for

transmitting messages to and from neurons within the brain.

According to the UCSD researchers, the new findings provide additional

support for the potential use of gene therapy to treat loss of memory and

cognitive function in Alzheimer’s patients.

+ Article continues:

http://www.eurekalert.org/releases/ucsd-usr020801.html

* * *

MMR Uptake Figures Plateau in UK

http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/health/newsid_1162000/1162144.stm

The number of parents taking their children for the controversial MMR

jab has stopped falling.

Health experts say nearly nine out of 10 UK parents now take their

children for the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) jab.

The latest data from the Public Health Services Laboratory Services

(PHLS), shows that the take-up for the jab fell sharply in 1996 after Dr

Wakefield published his first controversial paper linking it to

autism and bowel disease.

The rate dropped then from 92.5% to an all-time low of 87.6%.

A spokesman for the PHLS But current figures show that the vaccination

rates have now stabilised at 88%.

A spokesman for the PHLS said they were delighted by the figures and

hoped public confidence would continue to grow as more and more data pointed

to the safety of the jab.

+ Article continues:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/health/newsid_1162000/1162144.stm

* * *

100 + NY Legislators “Educated” by ACES, Bauman

Over 100 NY state legislators were educated to the plight of people

diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder within the state, in another

successful event organized by New York autism activist Bauman.

On January 23, New York Families for Autistic Children and ACES (the

Autism Coalition of the Empire State) and Bauman hosted a legislative

breakfast in the States Capital Albany. Among the hot topics were: Lack of

appropriate placements, lack of qualified, trained professionals, and lack

of quality assurances in programs and schools. Steve , Chairman of

the Assembly Education committee promised to open hearings into the

educational systems currently in place in New York State for our population.

Congratulations for more good work, !

* * *

Caregiver Shortage Hitting Disabled Hard

Low wages, demanding work contribute to shortage

[by Downs in The Kansas City Star.]

http://www.kcstar.com:80/item/pages/printer.pat,local/37751f51.211,.html

shoulders more responsibility than fast-food employees

who flip burgers for $7.70 an hour. But that is what he makes as a full-time

caregiver for seven developmentally disabled men at a Kansas City group

home. He brushes their teeth, drives them to their daily jobs -- they sort

greeting cards and plastic cups -- and helps them use the restroom. He has

been doing it for six years.

" Each day, I feel like I've accomplished something, " said the

65-year-old , who is employed by the Greater Kansas City Foundation

for Citizens with Retardation. " But could I live on this wage if I wasn't

collecting my retirement from the Postal Service? No. And I don't see how

anyone could do it without having a second job. "

Because of the low pay, it is getting harder and harder to hire good

employees to care for disabled people, program administrators say. At a time

when the unemployment rate is low, the pool of candidates for low-paying,

high-responsibility jobs is small.

+ Article continues:

http://www.kcstar.com:80/item/pages/printer.pat,local/37751f51.211,.html

* * *

Autistic Boy Killed Baby Brother, UK

http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/newsid_1165000/1165848.stm

A boy killed his baby brother by cutting off his left hand and

stabbing him 17 times was suffering from autism, a court has heard. The

13-year-old, who denied murder, admitted manslaughter due to diminished

responsibility at Bristol Crown Court. Roderick Denyer QC, prosecuting,

accepted the boy's plea and said a murder trial would not be in the public

interest.

The case was adjourned for psychiatric reports. Kitchen knife After

the attack the boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had walked to a

nearby police station, pulled out a five-inch kitchen knife and told

officers: " I've killed my brother, " the court heard. Asked why, he had just

said: " I want to be with my mum " . Officers found the six-month-old baby in

his cot at the boy's home in the Withywood area of Bristol.

+ Article continues at:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/newsid_1165000/1165848.stm

* * *

Japan's Ape Sequencing Effort Set to Unravel the Brain's Secrets

[by Cyranoski in Nature.com.]

http://www.nature.com/cgi-taf/DynaPage.taf?file=/nature/journal/v409/n6821/f

ull/409651a0_fs.html <-- address ends here.

Tokyo - A workshop planned for next month on the genetics and neurology

of apes could pave the way to a better understanding of the relationship

between the human genome and the brain, its organizers say.

The Genes and Minds Initiative (GEMINI) workshop will try to improve

coordination of existing ape-genome sequencing efforts and of related

research in neurological gene expression and gene-based evolutionary study

of apes. It could also serve as a springboard for a major international

effort in the sequencing of ape genomes.

The meeting is being jointly organized by the National Institute of

Genetics (NIG) and the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research (RIKEN)

in Japan, and will take place in Tokyo. " The aim is to provide a place to

discuss possible international and interdisciplinary cooperation on

understanding what makes us human, " says Yoshiyuki Sakaki of RIKEN's Genomic

Sciences Center.

The ape genome is thought to be around 99% equivalent to the human

genome. " By examining the subtle genetic differences relating to the nervous

system and brain function, it will be possible to shed light on language,

the ageing process, and on sensitivity to disease, " says Hans Lehrach of the

Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics in Berlin. For example,

researchers might be able to establish what makes apes resistant to

Alzheimer's disease and AIDS.

+ Article continues at:

http://www.nature.com/cgi-taf/DynaPage.taf?file=/nature/journal/v409/n6821/f

ull/409651a0_fs.html <-- address ends here.

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" Open Your Eyes to Autism "

and be a part of

" The Power of ONE "

April 25-27, 2001 in Washington, D.C.

Unlocking Autism presents this year's " Power of ONE " Conference and Rally

for National Autism Awareness in Washington, D.C. April 25-27, 2001

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Lenny Schafer, Editor PhD Ron Sleith Kay Stammers

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