Double-blind, placebo-controlled Study of L- carnosine supplementation in children with autistic spectrum disorder

Researchers:-

Michael G. Chez, M.D., Cathleen P. Buchanan, Ph.D., Jamie L. Komen, M.A., Marina Becker, R.N. Journal of Child Neurology (accepted for publication 2003). Pediatric Neurology, Lake Forest Hospital, Illinois 60045, USA. mchezmd@interaccess.com (PubMed – Abstract)

Objective: L-Carnosine is an amino acid dipeptide that may enhance frontal lobe function. We therefore sought to investigate whether L-Carnosine supplementation for children with Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD) results in observable, objective changes in language and/or behavior in contrast to placebo.

Design/Methods: Thirty-one children (21 M, mean age= 7.45; range = 3.2-12.5 yrs) meeting inclusion criteria were enrolled in an 8 week blinded trial of either 400 mg BID powdered L-Carnosine or placebo. Children were assessed at a pediatric neurology clinic with the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS), the Gilliam Autism Rating Scale (GARS), the Expressive and Receptive One-Word Picture Vocabulary tests (E/ROWPVT), and biweekly parental Clinical Global Impression of Change (CGI), at baseline and 8 week endpoint. Dr Michael G. Chez is specialist and associate professor in Child Neurology Results: Children who were on placebo (n=17) did not show statistically significant changes on any of the outcome measures. After 8 weeks on L-Carnosine, children (n=14) showed statistically significant improvements on the GARS total score, GARS Behavior, Socialization, and Communication subscales, and the ROWPVT (all p’s<.05). E/ROWPVT and CARS showed trends in improvements, which were supported by parental CGI.

Conclusions: Oral supplementation with 400mg L-Carnosine resulted in demonstrable improvements in autistic behaviors as well as increases in language comprehension that reached statistical significance. Although the mechanism of action of the amino acid is not well understood, it is believed that it acts to modulate neurotransmission and affect metal ion transfer of zinc and copper in the entorhinal cortex. This may enhance neurological function or act in a neuroprotective fashion.

Autism, ADHD, mercury, heavy metal toxicity, vaccination and politics

Since I am having a research day, I thought I would post this article on links between heavy metal toxicity, specifically Mercury, immunization and Autism. It is written by Robert Kennedy Jr. is senior attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council.

By Robert Kennedy Jr. | July 1, 2005

MOUNTING EVIDENCE suggests that Thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative in children’s vaccines, may be responsible for the exponential growth of autism, attention deficit disorder, speech delays, and other childhood neurological disorders now epidemic in the United States.

Prior to 1989, American infants generally received three vaccinations (polio, measles-mumps-rubella, and diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis). In the early 1990s, public health officials dramatically increased the number of Thimerosal-containing vaccinations without considering the cumulative impact of the mercury load on developing brains.

In a 1991 memo, Dr. Maurice Hilleman, one of the fathers of Merck’s vaccination programs, warned his bosses that 6-month-old children administered the shots on schedule would suffer mercury exposures 87 times the government safety standards. He recommended that Thimerosal be discontinued and complained that the US Food and Drug Administration, which has a notoriously close relationship with the pharmaceutical industry, could not be counted on to take appropriate action as its European counterparts had. Merck ignored Hilleman’s warning, and for eight years government officials added seven more shots for children containing Thimerosal.

Mercury is a known brain poison, and autism rates began rising dramatically in children who were administered the new vaccine regimens. A decade ago the American Academy of Pediatrics estimated the autism rate among American children to be 1 in 2,500. Today, the CDC places the rate at 1 in 166, or 1 in 80 boys. Additionally, one in six children is now diagnosed with a related neurological disorder.

In 2000, the CDC met with pharmaceutical companies and the FDA in secret to review its findings linking Thimerosal with the dramatic rise in neurological illnesses. According to transcripts, participants were alarmed about the undeniable links between the Thimerosal and widespread brain damage in children. Dr. Bill Weil told the group, ”You can play with [the results] all you want. They are statistically significant.” Dr. Richard Johnston admitted he feared his grandchild getting a Thimerosal-containing vaccine. But the group was most concerned with keeping the findings secret. ”Consider this embargoed information,” said Dr. Roger Bernier, a senior director at the National Immunization Program, at the meeting’s close. The CDC now says it has ”lost” the data that supported the crucial study and has persistently defied congressional requests and federal law requiring it to open up the federal Vaccine Safety Database to scientists and the public.

Numerous animal, DNA, epidemiological, and other studies point to Thimerosal as a culprit in America’s epidemic of neurological disorders. Autistic children have been shown to have higher mercury loads than nonautistics, and there have been reports of significant improvements in some brain-injured children by removing mercury from their brains. Most of the symptoms of autism are similar to the symptoms of mercury poisoning. Scientists have been able to induce autism-like symptoms in mice by exposing them to Thimerosal. A recent study by an FDA scientist, Dr. Jill James, found that many autistic children are genetically deficient in their capacity to produce glutathione, an antioxidant generated in the brain that helps remove mercury from the body.

Government health agencies who green-lighted Thimerosal have turned a blind eye to the hundreds of studies linking Thimerosal to a wide range of neurological disorders and joined the pharmaceutical industry to gin up a series of flawed European studies to exonerate Thimerosal. Those studies examined children exposed to a tiny fraction of the Thimerosal given to American kids and took advantage of the autism spike that resulted from deceptive data-gathering in Scandinavia to argue that autism rates are unrelated to Thimerosal use.

Drug makers wary of liability reduced Thimerosal in most children’s vaccines in recent years, but the preservative remains in flu shots, tetanus boosters, and over-the-counter drugs. Mercury-laced vaccine stocks were given to American children until the end of 2003.

Government officials who continue to champion Thimerosal should recognize that this is not just a theoretical exercise in bureaucratic face-saving. Their wrong-headed defense of Thimerosal safety in the face of overwhelming science is discouraging testing of promising treatments which may be effective. They are depriving vulnerable populations from being identified to avoid Thimerosal. They also cannot escape responsibility for their failure to warn international health agencies and governments who, based upon American assurances, are now injecting the developing world’s children with this brain-killing chemicals.

This article was reproduced from the Globe Newspaper Company.

Natural treatments for autism including mercury detoxification and glutathione

This is info from a newsletter from Dr. Julian Whitaker, one of the Directors of the Marcus Autism center. He found that there are natural things that can be done to treat a child with autism. Here’s a summary of what he recommends.

1. Test the child for mercury and other heavy metals. If found, then do chelation therapy on the child. Transdermal and oral DMPS has been found to remove mercury as has glutathione injections. One study of chelation’s results on 152 autistic patients found that 36% had a marked improvement, 39% had a moderate improvement, 15% had a slight improvement and only 10% had no improvement.

2. Autistic children tend to have dietary allergies to dairy products and gluten. Also get them off sugar, artificial sweeteners, preservatives, food dyes and hydrogenated oils.

Use good multivitamin and mineral supplements since more than half the kids were found deficient in Vitamins A, B1, B3, B5, biotin, selenium, zinc, magnesium, essential amino acids and omega 3 and omega 6 essential fatty acids.

3. Glutathione is an antioxidant and detoxifier that is depleted in most autistic children. It can be given to the child either intravenously or orally but the best way is by using the LifeWave glutathione patches. when using the patches, please start gently, being aware of detox reactions that can occur in these children. you may need to start with placing the patches on the body for only a few hours a day. Look for feelings of nausea etc and drink plenty of pure spring or filtered water.

4. Finally, investigate having the child experience a pressurized chamber to breathe 100% oxygen. This is highly effective for treating brain and neurological disorders.

Using Lifewave Glutathione patches for antioxidant protection, heavy metal toxicity and more.

Glutathione is one of the bodys main antioxidants and has wide benefits.  It is an immune booster, slows the aging process, protecting against many degenerative conditions and heavy metal toxicity.  For 10 or more years glutathione injections have been used for mercury poisoning, alzheimers, and parkinsons with excellent results. Doctors routinely use Glutathione-promoting drugs to detoxify victims of certain types of drug overdose. However, the pharmaceutical drugs that raise Glutathione levels produce side effects and cannot safely be used long-term.

Raising Glutathione levels during cancer treatment leads to fewer side effects, such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, hair loss, and even loss of white blood cells. Higher Glutathione levels speeds the healing process, reduces the possibility of infection, and helps to release drugs and anesthesia from the body. Glutathione protects DNA and RNA from free radical damage, and it protects against cellular peroxidation caused by exposure to pesticides, plastics, benzene and carbon tetrachloride, as well as heavy metals, cigarette smoke, smog, drugs, solvents, dyes, phenols and nitrates. There is no doubt that glutathione is something you want in your health arsenal!

The only problem is that it has been notoriously difficult to supplement orally, as it is broken down by digestion. Even intravenous injections are broken down rapidly and the blood levels of glutathione return to their previous level after only 24 hrs.  If you want to keep the levels up you have to have regular injections at a whopping $200 each! The only other way previously shown effective to increase glutathione was by taking large quantities of whey protein. Both of these methods have been shown to increase glutathione by around 30%.

I was very excited to see the research done on glutathione levels using LifeWave patches. The increase is 300%!  This is absolutely spectacular, plus the levels are more constant so the body remains protected.

to find out more about LifeWave patches, please see www.lifewave.com/newwavehealth

Specific research info on Lifewave patches and the glutathione study see http://www.lifewave.com/pdf/Research/Research-Hippocrates.pdf
I have also included a video of Dr Karen Guenette demonstrating how to use the patches for maximum benefit

L-Carnosine helps cognitive developmental delays, socialization in autism, and gross motor ability

L – C A R N O S I N E

What is Carnosine?

L-carnosine, is a naturally-occurring amino acid found within the human body.The deep frontal part of the brain (entorhinal cortex) is believed to be a site where carnosine tends to accumulate. It may interact with zinc in that area, as well as having effects on GABA, a brain neurotransmitter, which by a complex chemical reaction forms homo-carnosine.

What Studies Have Been Done with Carnosine?

Rat and animal studies have been done with carnosine looking at “neuroprotection.” These investigations aimed to examine protective action since carnosine may be protective of muscle and nerve function, particularly of the heart. There have been no studies that have shown any evidence of toxicity.

Recent MRI studies by Petroff and colleagues (2001) examining levels of brain chemistry showed a relationship between homo-carnosine and GABA in temporal lobe and generalized myoclonic epilepsies.

These authors described homo-carnosine levels that may correlate with seizure control even when GABA response is defective in human studies. Dr. Chez was intrigued by the results of this study, and thus began a study in June, 2001 that aimed to test if supplementing carnosine orally could enhance seizure protection in childrenwho were already on anticonvulsants and who had recurrent seizures despite being on standard drug therapy. He hypothesized that the addition of carnosine could decrease seizure frequency. He supplemented with powdered carnosine, as well as powdered Vitamin E (25IU) and powdered Zinc (2.5 mg).

The Open-Label Study

A total of 75 children, who had “failed” multipleantiepilepticmedications in an effort to stop their seizures (including steroids and the Ketogenic diet) with histories of partial or generalized epilepsy entered the open-label study. The majority had fronto- temporal lobe seizures, or generalized epilepsy. 25% had EEGs to directly compare before and after starting the carnosine. Many patients had reductions in seizure frequency, but without EEG correlation. Two sisters with hypsarrythmia/Lennox-Gastaut wave patterns or Lennox-Gastaut type patterns, EEG amplitude and spike frequency improved with carnosine in dosages of 800-2,000 mg. per day. Dosage was titrated upward depending upon bodyweight. No side effects were reported. Unexpectedly, parental diaries showed a pattern of comments related to gains in cognitive domains including language, alertness, energy levels, and even gross motor ability. Dr. Chez was motivated by such reports in addition to comments from other professionals that worked simultaneously with the children (e.g., speech therapists) who, unaware that children were on the new supplement, spontaneously stated that individual children were showing incremental gains not previously seen. Expressive language was described as more fluent, eye contact more frequent, and interest in the environment was more prominent. Dr. Chez thought that this supplement could be of benefit to children with autism or PDD and so began to give it to children with such diagnoses in an open-label trial. Indeed, parents reported benefits in their children after as few as 2 weeks, in the areas of socialization, expressive language, alertness level, energy level, adaptation to change, and curiously, gross motor planning.

The Double-Blind Study

Because of the remarkable cognitive improvements in language, speech production and school performance as well as social alertness, Dr. Chez felt it important to study the effect of the supplement in children with Autistic Spectrum Disorders. Children were included in this study if they had histories of abnormal EEG, and had previously responded to cognitive-enhancing dementia medications (as part of a controlled study at the office) or to anti-convulsants. A double-blind placebo controlled study with carnosine was begun. Children were randomly placed on either active carnosine or placebo.Expressive and receptive language measures, two autism rating scales, and parent rating analog scales were administered at the start and completion of the study. Results of this study indicated clinically meaningful changes in many aspects of autistic features, and also showed that the carnosine supplement improved children’s expressive and receptive language significantly. This is the only dietary supplement to date studied in a double-blind fashion in autism.

Who Benefits and What are the Side Effects?

The majority of children with either epilepsy or autism treated in open
label studies by Dr. Chez benefited from carnosine supplementation. Dr.
Chez estimates that approximately 10% of children who have been on the carnosine supplement have had reports of no improvement. A very small percentage (less than 5% of children with epilepsy or autistic spectrum disorders) have shown increased physical hyperactivity or verbal hyperactivity, but we are unable to ascertain if these reports are directly related to the carnosine supplement. No sleep disturbances were reported as a result of carnosine therapy even in dosages up to 3,000 mg. a day. No abdominal side effects, skin rashes, or any changes in anticonvulsant blood levels, liver functions or hematological studies. No patients had any urinary changes or bowel habit changes from the carnosine. Many children on the autistic spectrum were reported to increase their range of food choices with an improved range of appetite. Responses have been seen in generalized epilepsies, focal seizure disorders, autism, PDD, and head injury to date. Because of its effect on entorhinal cortex, improvements in Alzheimer’s disease or other frontal lobe encephalopathy may be possible. Any syndrome that involves apraxia or expressive language delay may benefit from this.

Concurrent studies are currently being run or planned in areas of
attention disorder, Tourette’s syndrome, and various learning disability
syndromes of the nonverbal type.

The best way to supplement carnosine is the LifeWave, Carnosine patches. They stimulate the body’s own production of carnosine in a completely safe way. Powdered Carnosine formulas are unpleasant to take and much of it is broken down by digestion. It can be challenging to get a child to cooperate with this.

to find out more about Carnosine patches, go to www.lifewave.com/newwavehealth and look at their Y-Age product which also has glutathione. Both of these in combination have been helping children and adults alike.