Myelin Sheath and Autism

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See if it all makes sense to you as it surely makes sense to me. First, I have a step-son with autism and a degree in Psychology which has always made me deeply interested in autism. I diligently followed all the news and current research being done. Secondly, I have a deep affinity for dreams. I was told in a dream that my father was sick. I was told in my dreams the exact day he would die. I was told in my dreams that my boyfriend would die and so forth. I do not dream prophetic dreams every night, but have had enough in my life to know to pay attention. So, exactly one year ago on the night before Easter, I had a dream. For three days in a row, I prayed to God and asked him, "What is the cause of Autism?" Then on Easter Sunday, my Aunt asked me how my step-son (who has autism) was doing, and then the dream from the night before came rushing back. The dream went as such:

A man came down...he was like a teacher...he said, "Ok, it is relatively simple. Our bodies are wired electrically just like your house is. The wires are used to send messages back and forth from our brain to our body and from our body to our brain. There is a coating on this wire, just like your wire in your home has. When this coating gets too thin, there is a short-circuit. When toxins enter the body, our body fights back and sometimes when the immune system is overactive it will start attacking the coating on our wiring, therefore causing short-circuit. When this happens in different areas of the brain then you will have different symptoms."

Of course, I ran home and started researching this theory online. I started looking up myelin(which is the coating) and autism. I immediately came across two doctors who had the exactly same hypothesis with research to back it up. Interestingly enough, myelin is naturally thinner in boys than girls which would explain why boys are more likely to end up with autism.

So- to make this short, now that it is autism month, this dream is haunting me and I wish that someone would seriously take a look at the research done by Dr.George Bartzokis, professor of neurology at the David Geffen School of Medicine and Dr Vijendra Singh from Utah State. I do not know these doctors personally, I have only read what is available online.


After reading this research I would love to see more research on the levels of anti-bodies in our system and what causes the thinning of the myelin, also are there ways to make the myelin coating stronger.


Thanks for your time.

Sanely, Laura

SERINE which comes from Glycine AND ALSO
HISTIDINE are needed amino acids. Make sure you get enough vitamins and minerals also.

Frankly, I think your theory(which isn't new. Here is a relatively recent article that is similar http://www.ei-resource.org/news/autism- ... l-coating/ ), isn't valid. It DOES explain synestesia and some other things, but others are left wanting.

I never said my theory was new....it was a dream I had, but after researching it on the computer I found out it was a theory held by reputable doctors, but very underresearched as funds have not been available. I would not say it is not valid, but there has not been enough research done to make it unvalid. And the research that has been done, does have validity.

im not so sure about that stuff.

though i'm sure it happens i some cases.

The myelin sheath is affected in disorders like Multiple Sclerosis and ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease), but as far as we know, it is not
implicated in Autism.

It's an interesting hypothesis. However, I honestly don't think it fits. Especially since most disorders involving a decrease in myelin are degenerative, while autism is quite the opposite, showing improvement with time. That means just through the act of learning do autistic traits decrease in severity. This would point towards an underconnectivity issue where learning decreases that underconnectivity by increasing connections.

Not to say I haven't read the information on antibodies and cytokines in the CNS in autism, which I find very interesting. But I really do think the underlying basis for the wiring in autism has to do with minicolumnar morphometry, which has its roots in early foetal life. Not to say those antibodies aren't playing a role in etiology, but these are heterogeneous and multifactoral conditions so it's a mix of genetics and environmental interactions.

If you want to read more on that, keyword "underconnectivity", "minicolumns", and "autism". It's currently one of the leading theories in the field.

Did you read the article I cut and pasted here? http://www.wrongplanet.net/postt60682.html

If that were true, there would be a higher rate of disorders that are known to be myelin-related, such as multiples sclerosis, within the autistic population. Would there not?

Sophist-

That is very interesting as well. The reason I believe is that autism does not get worse is because the damage is done to the myelin sheath is when the brains are young when enviromental toxins enter their system and their underdeveloped immune system goes into overload attacking they myelin sheath. The damage is only done when the brain is young and hopefully myelin could be regenerated. I believe it is the autoimmune defiency that is genetic and the introduction of all the new toxins in our world is the enviromental factor. When I am allowed to post articles I will put on some recent research. There just hasn't been much of it done in this area.

L'Aut of interesting theories/ideas here topic

Thanks for the info Laurabessie, Mage and Sophist!

EvilkimEvil-

I believe that many diseases are reponsible for the damage of the myelin sheath. When it is damaged in different areas it will cause different symptoms. Schizophrenia, Depression, ADHD, Anxiety ect...anything that involves disruption in brain messages to the body from the brain vice versa.

I researched this before so I'll post what I found. I won't say what it means. I'll leave that up to the researchers.

Regarding Myelin Basic Protein (MBP) Autoantibodies:
These antibodies that attack the myelin sheath in the brain are mostly found in people with neurological symptoms - multiple sclerosis, HIV-associated neurological problems, encephalitis (inflammation of the brain), and SSPE. HIV is a virus, MS is likely caused by a virus (HHV-6 looks promising), encephalitis is often caused by a virus, and SSPE is caused by the measles virus. Two studies also found these antibodies in 58% and 70% of children diagnosed with autism. An interesting study found that these antibodies in autistics were associated with the HHV-6 virus and the measles virus.

"MBP autoantibody titers are highly correlated to exacerbation and relapse in MS. MBP autoantibodies are also found in up to 64% of HIV-associated neurological syndrome, 58% of autistic children, 30% of Japanese encephalitis and 30% of subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE) patients." http://www.specialtylabs.com/tests/details.asp?id=1056

"a vast majority of virus serology-positive autistic sera was also positive for brain autoantibody: (i) 90% of measles-IgG-positive autistic sera was also positive for anti-MBP...84% of HHV-6-IgG-positive autistic sera was also positive for anti-MBP...This study is the first to report an association between virus serology and brain autoantibody in autism; it supports the hypothesis that a virus-induced autoimmune response may play a causal role in autism." http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9756729

Zendell

YES! This is all I am trying to do is bring attention to different research! I think we need to look for a cure...as if it is a virus..we may never totally know the cause. I believe researchers are spending too much time looking at vaccines and need to look further at what is going on in the brain.

RESPECT 2ukenker! So you know about Serine aswell then? The secret is seems it out!
Anyone reading this, please take notice, our family and hundreds of others now are relying on Phosphatidyl SERINE, it is BRILLIANT. Natural, safe and without prescription, we say it is the natural anti-depressant and far better than Ritalin! It also kicks in and works within 20mins, none of this waiting around for weeks to see what happens!

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I just looked up Serine...never heard of it. Here is what it said:

Needed for the proper metabolism of fats and fatty acids, the growth of muscle, and the maintenance of a healthy immune system; is a component of the protective myelin sheaths that cover nerve fibers; is important in RNA & DNA function and cell formation; aids in the production of immunoglobulins and antibodies.

Let's see of I can put a link in here yet.

Nope. Won't let me. I found it when I googled Serine on the anrvitamins site.

This is getting very interesting!

jelibean

What are the differences that you have noticed since taking serine?

Yes, I agree. I hope to see more research into the immunology (as well as endocrinology) in autism. I'm afraid don't know enough currently about glial genesis and regenesis in early childhood (since it's a certain type of glial cell that provides the myelin). I do know, however, that myelin doesn't start completing its growth until ages 1-2 years of age.

There's been interesting work done on Myelin Basic Protein as well as Human Basic Protein in the cerebral spinal fluid in autism. It's an interesting find; however, scientists still aren't exactly sure what it means. There is a general increase in antibodies to specific antigens or self in autism, including particular viruses.

The thing about the immune system is that cytokines and antibodies are often red flags, indicating something is going on. However, exactly WHAT can often be a number of things. Also, it's difficult (sometimes impossible) to know if these red flags are the cause or the effect.