Return of the cure thread.

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TPLG: Correct, but having thought things over whenever some doctor yells "Eureka!" and proclaims to have found a cure, is not a moot point.

In an ideal world, this cure would be a "palette" of tools to deal with the various (negative) aspects of ASDs, so that you can pick and choose from the "properties" of your condition, and have the unwanted ones cleared out.

In reality, though, I suspect such a cure would be less ideal -- probably carrying a number of side effects and other issues, as just about any other kind of medical treatment does.

The spectrum covers a vast "area"; ranging from the slighly nerdy personality, to the "hard-core" Kanner-type autie who completely looses it if the daily schedule slips ever so slightly. I definitely see the need for a cure for the latter, but the former needs merely a bit of understanding and "leeway" to get by just fine. If or whenever a cure comes up, it HAS to be the choice of each and every individual on that spectrum which "aspects" of their neurology needs fixing.

Scramjet, any "cure" means DNA fiddling, and that's not on. So there will never be a "Eureka".

The day DNA fiddling is allowed is the day the entire human race is threatened with extinction.

Ugh, the issue of "cure" is so confused these days. There's the theory that a cure would kill our personalities, there's those who think that the only cure is prenatal testings and abortion, and so many other different ideas. It is indeed a sticky wicket.

I myself am for personal pride and ambition, striving as hard as needed to gain what you want. I never asked for acceptance, nor did I ever have it handed to me. I worked for it. Of course, this doesn't work for everyone, but it's what I go by. I can feel proud of my accomplishments, and for what they are, and how I myself made them happen.

Again, this is just what works for me.

To me acceptance is the cur for all people on all levels of the spectrum. We are all equals. I will continue to strive for acceptance for all people with differences. I wont ask for it, but I will demand it.

The Autism Research Institute has information on over 1,000 people who have recovered from autism. There are known causes of autism that can be treated. One genetic cause is an inability to digest the amino acid phenylaline. For people who can't digest phenylaline, autism can be prevented by eating foods low in phenylalanine. Another cause of autism symptoms is an inability to digest gluten and casein caused by a problem with an enzyme called DPP-IV. People who can't digest gluten and casein suffer from symptoms similar to opiates such as a reduced sensitivity to some types of pain, below average upper body muscle strength, brain fog, and social withdraw. It can be treated by avoiding foods containing gluten and casein found in wheat and milk. Other causes of autism symptoms are mercury and chronic infections.

Do you have any actual evidence such as controlled scientific studies to back up those claims? Not testimonials or anecdotes.

PubMed allows you to search scientific studies. Here's the link: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?db=pubmed

The problem digesting phenylaline is called PKU. I believe everyone is tested at birth now and told how to treat it if it is a problem. There are several studies related to the other enzyme problem with DPP-IV and gluten and casein in autism but there isn't a standard test for it yet. The gluten/casein problem is more difficult to study since many people in a study won't follow the diet, there's no money to be made treating it so no one will fund a high quality study, and a big problem for many autism studies is that it's hard for doctors and researchers to detect improvements in autism.

When it comes to non-patentable treatments, there usually won't ever be several million dollar top quality trials that convince conventional doctors.

For the DPP-IV problem with gluten and casein it's known that:
normal babies given morphine (an opiate) display autistic traits
autistics have higher levels of opiates
opiates are known to cause social withdraw, drowsiness, confusion, and symptoms that naturally lead to autistic traits
87-90% of autistics have antibodies to undigested protein from gluten and casein
nalozone and naltrexone (which block effects of opiates) has some benefit

There are dozens of studies but most are to explain precisely what is wrong and what is involved because following a gluten/casein free diet for life is very difficult. It's not hard to try the diet for a week or two to see if it helps but what researchers really want is a way to fix the enzyme so the diet isn't necessary which is why there aren't dozens of trials on the diet.

The National Institute of Mental Health is planning a Double-Blind, Placebo Control trial to see whether a gluten-free/casein-free diet helps treat autism. Here's the link: http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00090428

I can personally say that it works. I used to be insensitive to pain (as far as I know, only opiates are known to cause this). After 2 weeks on the diet, I know feel pain like most people, it actually hurts when I punch myself. I also went from bench pressing 120 pounds to lifting 170 pounds without lifting weights or taking supplements. I had poor muscle strength my entire life (opiates are a known cause). Now it's normal. Plus I'm less autistic now although that is subjective.

Maybe I should give that diet a shot... Why not, huh?

I think you should try it. I don't think it can hurt as long as you avoid nutrient deficiencies. I'd take a multi-vitamin plus calcium since less foods makes it harder to get what you need and it's hard to get enough calcium without eating dairy.

I felt much worse the first two days and improved by the end of the first week.

I don't want to alarm you but you need to know about withdrawal symptoms. Undigested gluten and casein are similar to morphine. If you can't digest it, you will have high levels of opiates similar to morphine and will likely experience withdrawal symptoms if you stop eating gluten and casein. Some other foods are similar so it won't be as bad as fasting. I fasted once for two days and I felt like I was going to fall over and die.

From MedlinePlus Drug Information:
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/drug ... 82133.html

"If you suddenly stop taking morphine, you may experience withdrawal symptoms such as anxiety; sweating; difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep; chills; shaking of a part of your body that you cannot control; upset stomach; diarrhea; runny nose, sneezing or coughing; hair on your skin standing on end; or hallucinating (seeing things or hearing voices that do not exist)."

I experienced most of the symptoms above when I started the diet. I used to eat bread when I couldn't sleep. I now know I was treating a withdrawal symptom. Thankfully, I didn't hallucinate and the shaking was only a few times while lying down for a few seconds each time. The shaking was similar to a kicking motion (the phrase "kicking the habit" comes from what heroin users experience when they quit) I didn't sleep for two days after I started the diet so be careful when you start it.

Why not just give people the choice?

I'm all for something (drug-free, preferably... don't trust drug companies one iota) that will alleviate some of the symptoms of LFA, or even 'cure' AS/HFA but I think it should ideally be the individual's choice. Specially for those with HFA/AS who can make that decision consciously... perhaps up to the parents of those on the lower functioning end?

Forced medication just leads to problems.

I do some of this already because I like being around my friends... my mind tears myself apart when im alone.

I just want to be able to function normally, be able to read body language, understand group interaction (without having my mind subsumed completely in them of course), do well at job interviews, and be able to have a girlfriend...

A cure would allow me to do all this, and im not so attached to "who I am" to not be willing to change it if I could so I could do those things successfully... I just don't know how.

You can count me out! I'm not taking any therapies that will make me more like the mainstream population. I'm happy being an autistic punk.

A friend of mine ran into Mr T in Chicago. They passed each other on teh sidewalk and my friend muttered under his breath: "you aren't all that".

Mr T stayed true to his character: he didn't even turn around... he kept on walking and yelled back: "I am you foo!"



I love the A-Team.

BTW, you are an architect and yet you quoted Atlas Shrugged in your sig? Shouldn't something from The Fountainhead be more appropriate? "Howard Roark laughed." There! Or simply "dynamite"?

Are we talking about a cure or an aid?

Cure = fix underlying problem. (Turning Autistics into NTs.)
Aid = temporary improvement. (Already exists in chemical form.)

Cure, never in my book.

I voted effective, supportive therapies yes, but no cure. I do want to learn to function in the NT world, but I don't want to become an NT or be drilled into acting like one (eg. ABA aimed at "recovery", I don't mind behavior therapy if it's meant at teaching us strategies of functioning in the NT world when we need to).

There isn't anything that I need to recover from.