The CDC came out with a report in March 2013 that suggests 1 in 50 children will be diagnosed somewhere on the autism spectrum – significantly higher than the 1 in 86 figure that came out in 2007.1 What does this mean moving forward, particularly for children? When figures like 1 in 50 create national panic, information and understanding all too often becomes distorted. Let's learn more about autism, its causes and potential natural treatment options, including chiropractic care.
Dr. Leo Kanner, a psychiatrist at Johns Hopkins University, first studied autism in 1943; his observations included a boy he noted had the innate ability to ignore other people in his space – including parents and playmates. He showed little if any emotion when "petted." From there, Dr. Kanner coined the term autism from the Greek word auto, meaning "self." He primarily made observations of social behavior, but we now know there is a neurological component driving those behaviors.
Symptoms classically associated with autism include, but are not limited to, sensory motor imbalances, lack of social interaction, obsessive compulsive behavior, irritable bowel syndrome, insomnia, and communication dysfunction.
When a medical / health issue is poorly understood, genetics is generally the first to be blamed; however, in the case of autism, this claim does not hold up scientifically when put to the test. In 2005, a study in the American Journal of Medical Genetics concluded that only 5-15 percent of diagnosed cases of autism can be attributed to mutations in genes, also referred to as syndromic autism. This leaves 85-95 percent of autism, or essential autism, as cases caused by something else. The relatively new field known as epigenetics studies the effects of the environment on our gene expression and even neural development. This area of study provides the best grounds for understanding essential autism.
The Autistic Brain
The autistic brain for the most part appears healthy; there is no measurable damage to cells or areas of the brain, but multiple areas are found to be immature or underdeveloped. Some of these areas include the limbic system, which regulates emotions, long-term memory and sense of smell. Autistic children have a suboptimal sense of smell. The cerebellum regulates language and motor skills; children with autism tend to have postural abnormalities and are clumsy. The prefrontal cortex houses centers for personality expression and decision-making. The brain stem serves as a pathway for both sensory and motor input to the brain from the rest of the body.2
Looking at the organization of the brain, Dr. Robert Melillo states in his book Autism that there is a growing body of evidence to support the notion of a right-brain deficiency: either the right side of the brain is underdeveloped or the left brain is overdeveloped. The right side of the brain or the "creative brain" is responsible for things like spatial awareness, imagination and color coordination. The left brain or "analytic brain" contains primary centers for numbers, sequence and logic.2
In my office, I have seen children on the autism spectrum gravitate toward analytic activities such as math, puzzles and even organization of playing cards.
Potential Role of Inflammation
Possible causes of autism have been debated heavily over the past decade, with no real consensus on the topic. Inflammation, however, seems be an overlapping theme when it comes to neurological dysfunction.
Our blood vessels are normally "leaking" our blood cells and other nutrients to body tissue; this is referred to as permeability. When something is impermeable, only small molecules (such as oxygen) can pass through. With inflammation, blood vessels become permeable to bigger molecules, which break down tissue and create swelling. This is what happens when bodily tissue becomes damaged and needs repair, and when a foreign substance needs to be eliminated. The problem with this process is when the inflammation becomes a chronic issue, such as an autoimmune process.
An autoimmune response occurs when the body sees normal tissue as a foreign substance and breaks it down. When this happens over and over, scarring begins to take the place of normal tissue. With chronic brain inflammation, a slightly different process takes place. In the brain, when the blood brain barrier becomes chronically permeable, neural tissue is broken down. Scars are the result of damage to the skin; amyloid plaques are the result of damage to the brain. The amyloid plaques prevent new learning from occurring, as they block neural synapses.
Amyloid plaques have been closely associated with Alzheimer's, and now research suggests autistic children also show amyloid plaques in the brain.
Leaky gut syndrome is an inflammatory condition of the intestines common among autistic children. The intestinal lining is made up of tightly jointed cells and mucosa designed to absorb the good things and keep out the bad. When there is an insufficient blood flow and neural input to the lining of the intestines, the tight barriers loosen. Without tight junctions in the gut, parasites and bacteria can break through and cause inflammation.
Reduced blood / neural flow also reduces hydrochloric acid, which is needed to break down food into essential nutrients. The lack of acid also provides an environment for bad bacteria to grow. As a result, the bad bacteria make toxins that leak through the intestine and into the body, causing inflammation and tissue damage.
Promising Natural Treatments?
While there are no criteria for the treatment of autism spectrum disorders, chiropractic adjustments have been shown to reduce autistic signs and symptomatology in recent studies. Autistic children are showing improvements in cognitive skill, as well as physical improvements in spinal range of motion, with post-treatment chiropractic adjustments.3
Nutritional studies suggest objective and subjective improvements with omega-3 fatty acids (fish oil, flaxseed oil, etc.), vitamin D and vitamin A. Trehalose is a carbohydrate that has shown to dissolve amyloid plaques and is currently used with Alzheimer's patients.
Additionally, children with autism typically have an affinity to a certain food (e.g., bread or pasta), and it turns out these are the foods they have a GI sensitivity toward.4-6
Where do we go from here? More research needs to be done to verify the efficacy of all of these treatments. However, thanks to the research previously done, we can better guide the direction of future studies, such as the role of the digestive tract, neurological development, and the effects of specific environmental factors while in the womb and/or in the first few years of life. Schools should also look into specialized training and techniques designed to make the learning process more efficient for autistic children.
References
- Blumberg S, Bramlett M, Kogan M, et al. Changes in Prevalence of Parent-Reported Autism Spectrum Disorder in School Aged U.S. Children: 2007 to 2011-2012. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Health Statistics Reports, March 20, 2013.
- Melillo R. The Scientific Truth About Preventing Diagnosing, and Treating Autism Spectrum Disorders and What Parents Can Do Now. Perigee Trade, 2012.
- Opsina MB, Seida JK, Clark B, et al. Behavioural and developmental interventions for autistic spectrum disorder: a clinical review. PloS One, 2008;3(11):1-32.
- Amminger GP, Berger GE, Schafer MR,et al. Omega-3 fatty acid supplementation in children with autism: a double blind randomized, placebo controlled pilot study. Biol Psychiatry, 2007;61:551-553
- Clark JH, Rhoden DK, Turner DS. Symptomatic vitamin A and D deficiencies in an eight year old with autism. J Parenter Enteral Nutr, 1993;17(3):284-286.
- Skoron J. Autism: the autoimmune disease. Natural Practitioner, Oct 2013:8-10.
