Guest guest Posted September 28, 2007 Report Share Posted September 28, 2007 Hi all, I found this on the Thoughtful House discussion group and thought it would be of interest, though as we all know there is so much more to this than to go GF/CF. At least connections to food and behaviour are at least being studied. Regards Glynis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 28, 2007 Report Share Posted September 28, 2007 --- Oops! forgot to send the info, here it is. Scientists Make Gut-Brain Connection To Autism http://sar.c.topica.com/maah1wYabByQla4JkFcbaeQyH5/ Compounds produced in the digestive system have been linked to autistic-type behaviour in laboratory settings, potentially demonstrating that what autistic children eat can alter their brain function, say scientists from the University of Western Ontario. They announced their findings Thursday in Ottawa. UWO researchers investigated the " gut-brain " connection after many parents of autistic children reported significant improvements in the behaviour of their autistic children when they modified their diet, eliminating dairy and wheat products, Dr. Derrick MacFabe, the director of a research group at UWO in London, Ont., told CBC News Thursday. Researchers were particularly interested in one dietary characteristic the autistic children seemed to exhibit, he said. " Certainly, a lot of these children had peculiar cravings for high-carbohydrate foods that caused their behaviours, " he said. " We were interested in finding a link between certain compounds that are produced by bacteria in the digestive system †" particularly those occurring with early childhood infections. " The bacteria produce propionic acid, a short chain fatty acid, which in addition to existing in the gut, is commonly found in bread and dairy products, MacFabe said. To test their hypothesis that diet plays a part in generating autistic behaviour, UWO scientists administered the compound to rats' brains. " They immediately engaged in bouts of repetitive behaviour, hyperactivity and impaired social behaviours which had close similarity to what parents are seeing with autism, " MacFabe said. When the rats' brains were examined later, they were found to have inflammatory processes similar to those in the brains of autistic children, he said. " We found, looking at the rats' brains under the microscope, changes that looked a lot like what's occurred from autopsy cases of patients who had autism. " It's remarkable that a simple compound like propionic acid would have such a dramatic effect on " normal " animals, he said. MacFabe said his research team, and scientists at Queen's University in Kingston, Ont., and Harvard University, are now conducting screening studies looking at effects of dietary changes in the general population. New way of approaching autism Dr. Martha Herbert, assistant professor in neurology at Harvard Medical School, told CBC News that the study opens up a new way of thinking about the disorder. " Now we're learning that the brain and body can influence each other, " she said. Autistic children are increasingly being seen as " oversensitized, " meaning " things may bother them that don't bother other people, " she said. " We need to pay attention to this. " Treating a child's health should be the first step in addressing autism, Herbert said, rather than solely focusing on behavioural therapy, currently a mainline approach. " Behaviour therapy is certainly important. But the child's health controls the bandwidth that the child has for being able to benefit from behavioural therapy. If a child is sick, they won't be able to focus. " Parents should watch their children closely to determine what foods trigger reactions and to consider removing those triggers, she said. Herbert strongly advocates a balanced diet, consisting of all food groups, not just " bread and cheese. " " If you have foods that child is sensitive to in their immune system, that can set up processes that can impact brain function, and it can do so in a negative way. And if you remove those foods, that negative impact can stop. " In pecanbread , " Glynis Steele " wrote: > > Hi all, > > I found this on the Thoughtful House discussion group and thought it > would be of interest, though as we all know there is so much more to > this than to go GF/CF. At least connections to food and behaviour are > at least being studied. > > Regards > > Glynis > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 28, 2007 Report Share Posted September 28, 2007 thanks soooo much, what a great bunch of research!!! susie Hansen Gut Brain Connection Hi all, I found this on the Thoughtful House discussion group and thought it would be of interest, though as we all know there is so much more to this than to go GF/CF. At least connections to food and behaviour are at least being studied. Regards Glynis ________________________________________________________________________ Email and AIM finally together. You've gotta check out free AOL Mail! - http://mail.aol.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 30, 2007 Report Share Posted September 30, 2007 ---Hi everyone, I've looked quickly into this and have found the original paper for this. This is the site:- http://psychology.uwo.ca/pdfs/autism/macfabe%20etal07.pdf When I looked at propionic acid at Wikipedia I found some interesting comments. Firstly pa is used in bread making as a mold inhibitor, and that the adverse side effects of long term exposure to small amounts of propionic acid are ulceration of the eosophagus (Spelling!) and stomach. It also says that this class of bacteria (that produce pa) is commonly found in ruminants, which I thought was extremely relevant to this diet. We are in fact trying to alter our gut flora from ruminant digestion to human digestion by SCD aren't we? Also this type of bacteria that produces pa can be on the skin, and the sebaceus glands, causing acne, and whenever my daughter ate bread she always developed spots around her mouth and chin. In the above paper Clostridia is mentioned, so I'm not sure if this produces propionic acid. Hope this is of interest to some of you. Regards Glynis mam to Jasmine diagnosed with Kabuki Syndrome ng tube fed In pecanbread , " Glynis Steele " wrote: > > --- Oops! forgot to send the info, here it is. > > Scientists Make Gut-Brain Connection To Autism > > http://sar.c.topica.com/maah1wYabByQla4JkFcbaeQyH5/ > > Compounds produced in the digestive system have been linked to > autistic-type behaviour in laboratory settings, potentially > demonstrating that what autistic children eat can alter their brain > function, say scientists from the University of Western Ontario. > They announced their findings Thursday in Ottawa. > UWO researchers investigated the " gut-brain " connection after > many parents of autistic children reported significant improvements > in the behaviour of their autistic children when they modified their > diet, eliminating dairy and wheat products, Dr. Derrick MacFabe, the > director of a research group at UWO in London, Ont., told CBC News > Thursday. > Researchers were particularly interested in one dietary > characteristic the autistic children seemed to exhibit, he said. > " Certainly, a lot of these children had peculiar cravings for > high-carbohydrate foods that caused their behaviours, " he said. > " We were interested in finding a link between certain compounds > that are produced by bacteria in the digestive system †" > particularly those occurring with early childhood infections. " > The bacteria produce propionic acid, a short chain fatty acid, > which in addition to existing in the gut, is commonly found in bread > and dairy products, MacFabe said. > To test their hypothesis that diet plays a part in generating > autistic behaviour, UWO scientists administered the compound to rats' > brains. > " They immediately engaged in bouts of repetitive behaviour, > hyperactivity and impaired social behaviours which had close > similarity to what parents are seeing with autism, " MacFabe said. > When the rats' brains were examined later, they were found to > have inflammatory processes similar to those in the brains of > autistic children, he said. > " We found, looking at the rats' brains under the microscope, > changes that looked a lot like what's occurred from autopsy cases of > patients who had autism. " > It's remarkable that a simple compound like propionic acid > would have such a dramatic effect on " normal " animals, he said. > MacFabe said his research team, and scientists at Queen's > University in Kingston, Ont., and Harvard University, are now > conducting screening studies looking at effects of dietary changes in > the general population. > New way of approaching autism Dr. Martha Herbert, assistant > professor in neurology at Harvard Medical School, told CBC News that > the study opens up a new way of thinking about the disorder. > " Now we're learning that the brain and body can influence each > other, " she said. > Autistic children are increasingly being seen > as " oversensitized, " meaning " things may bother them that don't > bother other people, " she said. " We need to pay attention to this. " > Treating a child's health should be the first step in > addressing autism, Herbert said, rather than solely focusing on > behavioural therapy, currently a mainline approach. > " Behaviour therapy is certainly important. But the child's > health controls the bandwidth that the child has for being able to > benefit from behavioural therapy. If a child is sick, they won't be > able to focus. " > Parents should watch their children closely to determine what > foods trigger reactions and to consider removing those triggers, she > said. > Herbert strongly advocates a balanced diet, consisting of all > food groups, not just " bread and cheese. " > " If you have foods that child is sensitive to in their immune > system, that can set up processes that can impact brain function, and > it can do so in a negative way. And if you remove those foods, that > negative impact can stop. " > > In pecanbread , " Glynis Steele " <pyn1pyn1@> wrote: > > > > Hi all, > > > > I found this on the Thoughtful House discussion group and thought > it > > would be of interest, though as we all know there is so much more > to > > this than to go GF/CF. At least connections to food and behaviour > are > > at least being studied. > > > > Regards > > > > Glynis > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 1, 2007 Report Share Posted October 1, 2007 Hi Glynis, <<I've looked quickly into this and have found the original paper for > this. This is the site:- > > http://psychology.uwo.ca/pdfs/autism/macfabe%20etal07.pdf>> Great paper. <<When I looked at propionic acid at Wikipedia I found some interesting > comments. Firstly pa is used in bread making as a mold inhibitor, > and that the adverse side effects of long term exposure to small > amounts of propionic acid are ulceration of the eosophagus > (Spelling!) and stomach. It also says that this class of bacteria > (that produce pa) is commonly found in ruminants, which I thought was> extremely relevant to this diet. We are in fact trying to alter our> gut flora from ruminant digestion to human digestion by SCD aren't > we?>> Yes, that's correct. Sheila, SCD Feb. 2001, UC 23yrs, PCOD 22yrs mom of and Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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