The Hygiene Hypothesis and Autism

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Gosh, I control my inflammation and my autism gets better; my inflammation flares up and so does my autism. Maybe I'm being fooled by the obvious and parsimonious. Maybe I'm also being too pragmatic when I only concern myself with solutions that work.

By the way, are you aware of an epistemological concept known as Occam's Razor?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occam%27s_razor

But the New York Times article says:


This means that a s subset of autism, perhaps two-thirds, perhaps more or less, does not look like a type of inflammatory disease. It really doesn't say that "autism is an inflammatory disease."

Another issue with the way this is being read is to suggest that autism is linked to the autistic person's state of inflammation--when the article suggests a link to the mother's state of inflammation during fetal development. This would make a connection with current efforts to reduce inflammatory processes in an autistic person unlikely to be effective, except in so far as the symptoms of inflammatory diseases are stresses to the autistic's sensory processing and may lead to related complications. This does not suggest that infesting one's body with whipworm, etc. is going to remove the underlying processing disorder.

I am interested in this because I am also asthmatic and I know that people with severe asthma have eliminated their asthmatic symptoms by introducing parasites to their systems. I don't see a similar route here, if the issue was maternal inflammation.

This seems like an interesting area for study, but not something to jump to conclusions about.

[edited to add:] I do see that they are looking at direct inflammatory contributions to severity of autistic symptoms, and it would be great if the studies point to ways of alleviating symptoms, but the whole picture seems complicated, even in the simplified version in the Times piece. It will be interesting to see what is discovered when the study results come in and are corroborated by other studies.

Personally, I would think that improved diet is more likely to alleviate symptoms of autism. Improved diet is also likely to alleviate inflammatory symptoms. That does not mean that inflammation causes autism symptoms to become worse. Improved diet helps alleviate the symptoms of hundreds of diseases, disorders, and imbalances. In my opinion, the simplest explaination is that improved diet improves the symptoms of autism.

And again, I am not saying you are wrong, just that it is not proof.

Okay, what would constitute "proof"?

I will further say that what I offer is merely evidence and correlation in my own case--nothing more, and nothing less. When I say I "know", I'm defining knowledge as informed opinion, not proof. I only offered my findings here to see if anybody else had a similar experience, and to offer it as a possibility for others. As far as "proof" goes, that's an almost impossibly high standard to meet, and one I am not at all interested in meeting. Proof is the most epistemologically rigorous standard.

What does not meet even the lowest standards of epistemological rigor is what you have done. You assume that a generic "good diet" has somehow lessened my physical and neurological problems when the reality is that my diet would very possibly meet with disapproval from a dietician or nutritionist; it is something I tailored for my own needs, and a work in progress. What you have done is to make summary judgments before ascertaining the facts, or what is also known as prejudice. Prejudice is the most grievous of epistemological errors imaginable.

Sir, before passing judgments on errors I may or may not be making, you should really be looking at your own very grievous, and very real, errors. They are all too typical in the medical profession. They are unethical. And they need to stop.

Last edited by Thelibrarian on 08 Jul 2013, 3:31 pm, edited 4 times in total.

Very interesting. My son is almost never sick, but when he is sick, he's much more, um whatever non offensive term that I could use that would indicate "typically behaved" without making anybody feel it's bad to be atypical or that I don't appreciate him... I've been known to joke the few times he has gotten sick that well, I'm sorry he's not feeling good but man, what a difference.

I have had high inflammation for a couple of decades. Nobody could decide what or why but I had a high ESR and CRP and homosysteine, then I had my son, then I developed inflammatory arthritis.

I don't think there is a point in saying we've done a disservice to the human race by getting so clean or that everbody's autism is caused by inflammation... but if somebody is struggling with autism issues and reducing inflammation can help, then that's great.

Actually, I'm the same way. I used to look forward to getting sick as frequently those symptoms weren't as bad as what normal was.

What are you doing for him, if I may ask?

If you'd like, I'm happy to tell you what I've found that works for me.

I have a similar story: asymptomatic inflammation noted by doctors>>>>>>>child with autism>>>>>>>>rheumatoid arthritis


I did notice that thelibrarian said modified anti-inflammatory diet with a focus on probiotics and with peppermint oil. That's a fair bit more specific than "improved diet".

I think the inflammation link is promising. Thelibrarian's n=1 experiment is worthwhile anecdotal evidence. I don't have my daughter on a special diet per se but have swapped out processed foods for the whole foods they are designed to imitate e,g butter rather than margarine, real cheese for Kraft cheese-like stuff etc,

Doctors in the US and Europe have a hard time diagnosing ASD. Why would you expect an equal rate of diagnosis in parts of the world where people don't have access to basic health care let alone mental health services? Sad as it is, in many parts of the world if there is something wrong with a child the parents will throw it in a lake or just smack it in the head with a rock. When you are barely avoiding starvation on your farm in [insert f****d up 3rd world country here] you don't have time to take care of kids who are having meltdowns instead of plowing the field. In the areas you describe in point 3 I would be willing to bet money that ALL mental health issues are extremely under reported and under diagnosed.

Janissy, I appreciate it. Maybe I shouldn't have come down so hard on Sonofghandi, but I've simply had it with the medical profession. When my current doctor retired, he put me in touch with another doctor in the area, who said he couldn't take me, but did offer me a referral--to a dermatologist! Which is the last thing I need. Medical professionals just don't listen--or think.

Anyway, all of the improvements I've made are a direct result of what I've learned here at WP. I read, I consider, I experiment, and keep that which works for me. Consequently, I am sufficiently grateful that I hope to repay the favor, as this has been my only source for help. So, when the imperious, officious medical professionals come here and tell me I don't know what I'm talking about--well--I lose my cool in hurry.

On the surface, it sounds reasonable to trust your doctor.

But most of them will tell you that the only approved "treatment" for autism--an inflammatory disease -- is *cough* talk therapy. Which is another way of saying they don't know more about the etiology or treatment of autism than you do. So you and your doctor are, at best, no more than equals when it comes to understanding or treating autism.

They may have 12 years of medical training, but it is completely irrelevant to the question at hand which is (1) what the f**k is wrong? And (2) what do I do about it?

By the way, therapy for autistic people is basically a travesty and a fraud. All four of the therapists I saw should be sued for malpractice.

I've had rheumatism since childhood. But I don't believe for one moment that my Autism is a result of any inflammation, merely that inflammation can possibly exasperate my Autism, in the same way that wearing nylon will exaggerate my autism.

My consultant (who is an Autism specialist) tells me that the severity of Autism varies in direct correlation to your mood and the sensory input you have to deal with. Put an autistic person in a darkened room with minimal sensory input and no need for social interaction, and their symptoms will be minimal. Subject that same person to increasing levels of sensory and social stress, and their Autistic symptoms increase. Makes sense to me that any sensory discomfort from inflammation is going to set my Autism off.

But it doesn't automatically follow that inflammation causes the Autism. You might as well say that exposure to too much light in infancy causes Autism, since autistic problems increase with greater and more challenging light levels.

I do agree that Diet can have a big impact on your wellbeing, I personally will not tolerate any artificial foods in my diet if I can help it. That means no sweeteners (which I'm allergic to anyway) butter not margarine, real not processed meat, no artificial anything basically. A good diet helps with pretty much all of my health problems, including Rheumatism, Asthma, and general mental health. Feeling good in myself helps me to cope with my Autism, and reduces the sort of unwanted stimuli that will overload my brain. It doesn't however remove or in any way reduce my autism, no diet is going to do that.

Identifying inflammation correlated with autism does not automatically mean "autism is an inflammatory disease."

Tyri0n, you seem quick to adopt theories that propose that autism is highly treatable. While I am not saying these theories are wrong (they only just started the human trials to treat inflammation a few months ago, so it'll be several months before results are published), I am saying that it is often tempting to accept easy answers to complex problems.

As far as treating inflammation reducing autistic symptoms, I find that many things exacerbate my autistic behaviors, even when they are not directly related to autism, and that treating those symptoms alleviates the exacerbation. These things also exacerbate my ADHD, but that doesn't mean they're directly related to ADHD either. After all, my ADHD is much worse when I haven't had enough sleep because fatigue causes similar difficulties. This does not mean, however, that lack of sleep causes ADHD.

I don't know all that proves is people with autism can have comorbid inflimation problems...also though my immunity is fine and I've been diagnosed.

Are you 100% sure its autism you have, it could be inflimation causes simular symptoms but not the entire disorder......or perhaps you mistake some inflammation symptoms for autism symptoms when they aren't and have both conditions. Or perhaps inflammation acting up makes autism symptoms more apparent...I know for instance too much heat makes my sensory issues worse doesn't mean my autism is a heat intolerance condition.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGSXgztLR10[/youtube]

I don't think the hygiene hypothesis or the inflammation theory (it is a scientific theory as distinct from a hypothesis like the hygiene hypothesis) necessarily say that autism is highly treatable. After all, inflammation is also found in MS, and MS is not yet treatable. Schizophrenia, too, is associated with inflammation, and the medications given basically make the patient unable to function.