Scientists Gain Autism Insight By Studying Broccoli

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Scientists Gain Autism Insight By Studying Broccoli

The results of a new autism study were so surprising even one of the authors called it ?far- fetched,? at least on the surface. ?If you tell someone you?re treating autism with broccoli, they would think you are off your rocker,? said Paul Talalay, who is head of the Laboratory for Molecular Pharmacology at Johns Hopkins University.

He and his collaborators announced today that when they gave a compound called sulforaphane, derived from broccoli, to a small group of severely to moderately autistic teenage boys and young men, there was a dramatic improvement in the subjects? symptoms. They were calmer, more social and in some cases, more verbal.

This experiment was no long shot, however. It grew out of a long history involving the intersection of two well-developed courses of research.

Coming at it from one side was Talalay, who had been following his curiosity about cancer prevention and vegetables. From another angle came pediatric neurologist Andrew Zimmerman, who had been fascinated by anecdotal reports from parents that their autistic children improved during bouts of fever.

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http://www.forbes.com/sites/fayeflam/20 ... -broccoli/

Significance

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD), encompassing impaired communication and social interaction, and repetitive stereotypic behavior and language, affects 1?2% of predominantly male individuals and is an enormous medical and economic problem for which there is no documented, mechanism-based treatment. In a placebo-controlled, randomized, double-blind clinical trial, daily oral administration for 18 wk of the phytochemical sulforaphane (derived from broccoli sprouts) to 29 young men with ASD substantially (and reversibly) improved behavior compared with 15 placebo recipients. Behavior was quantified by both parents/caregivers and physicians by three widely accepted measures. Sulforaphane, which showed negligible toxicity, was selected because it upregulates genes that protect aerobic cells against oxidative stress, inflammation, and DNA-damage, all of which are prominent and possibly mechanistic characteristics of ASD.


Abstract

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD), characterized by both impaired communication and social interaction, and by stereotypic behavior, affects about 1 in 68, predominantly males. The medico-economic burdens of ASD are enormous, and no recognized treatment targets the core features of ASD. In a placebo-controlled, double-blind, randomized trial, young men (aged 13?27) with moderate to severe ASD received the phytochemical sulforaphane (n = 29)?derived from broccoli sprout extracts?or indistinguishable placebo (n = 15). The effects on behavior of daily oral doses of sulforaphane (50?150 µmol) for 18 wk, followed by 4 wk without treatment, were quantified by three widely accepted behavioral measures completed by parents/caregivers and physicians: the Aberrant Behavior Checklist (ABC), Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS), and Clinical Global Impression Improvement Scale (CGI-I). Initial scores for ABC and SRS were closely matched for participants assigned to placebo and sulforaphane. After 18 wk, participants receiving placebo experienced minimal change (<3.3%), whereas those receiving sulforaphane showed substantial declines (improvement of behavior): 34% for ABC (P < 0.001, comparing treatments) and 17% for SRS scores (P = 0.017). On CGI-I, a significantly greater number of participants receiving sulforaphane had improvement in social interaction, abnormal behavior, and verbal communication (P = 0.015?0.007). Upon discontinuation of sulforaphane, total scores on all scales rose toward pretreatment levels. Dietary sulforaphane, of recognized low toxicity, was selected for its capacity to reverse abnormalities that have been associated with ASD, including oxidative stress and lower antioxidant capacity, depressed glutathione synthesis, reduced mitochondrial function and oxidative phosphorylation, increased lipid peroxidation, and neuroinflammmation.

http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2014/10/08/1416940111

Hm. I love broccoli; always have. I can't say what effect it has with me because I wouldn't want to go without it long enough to see the effect change. But, I recognize that I am "calmer, more social and in some cases, more verbal" than people with moderate ASDs. Besides, broccoli (especially with almonds mix in) helps with my severe osteoporosis.

I actually like broccoli too. But admittedly, I don't eat it that often. Maybe I will try to increase my serum-broccoli level. There is a great Thai restaurant that I stop at a lot to get my night shift meal - that has a few different broccoli dishes. I'll have to give it a try.

The way I read it, you can't just eat a lot of broccoli to get the effect. The extract needs to be concentrated. It'skind of like lycopene, which is concentrated enough in ketchup to help w/ cancer prevention, but you can't get any effect by just eating lots of tomatoes.

Disclaimer: I am not a doctor or nutritionist. Do not change your dietary habits based on what I'm saying.

I'm just imagining the cacophony of parents furiously feeding their children broccoli to further perfect their little munchkins.

Well as far as the study is concerned - they are basing the controlled experiment on the extraction as you say. Of course there is no study- as far as I know - that confirms or refutes whether there is an advantage just from eating broccoli itself. But, on the other hand eating a little more broccoli or green vegetables of any sort is bound to be good for someone who is not eating enough of them anyway.

Good luck to them! My kids wouldn't touch broccoli with a ten foot pole.

Doesn't everyone become less hyper and less nervous and more calmed down when they have a fever?

Yes and being sick might make kids more compliant, as so many parents seem to think is impotant for their ASD child. Advocating you give kids fever is advocating Munchausen by Proxy. Not that it hasn't happened before in attempts to cure Autism.

I think it's about time people start to see autism for what it really is; a diagnosis containing a variety of symptom, all of which have their own neurological and/or physiological causes.

From what I can see, most, if not all autistic symptoms derive from mental or physical stress, in one way or another. Therefore I think it would be a good idea to test this broccoli thing on other stress related issues, before trying to tie it to an abstract concept like autism, where no two individuals with the diagnosis have the same symptoms.

That being said, I'm still all for researching different ways of relieving stress, because I think that can be extremely helpful, both for autistics and for society as a whole.

NO one is suggesting this can cure autism. But there are hopeful signs in a controlled experiment that indicate some significant decrease in symptoms from a control group of moderate to severe autistic teenagers.

have Anyone tried to take suplemments with sulforaphane, broccoli sprouts?? anyone notice any difference?

It is true, when i have a fever, i am more social. Actually, i probably have a fever now, and that is why i am posting. So this chemical might actually work on me, maybe...

Adds a whole new domension to "Shut up and eat your broccoli"

Well sir, that's a Really integrering question!....