Biomedical Approaches to Autism Spectrum and Neurodevelopmental Disorders  - Conference Summary

Here are some of the key messages from the conference on Biomedical Approaches to Autism Spectrum and Neurodevelopmental Disorders which was sponsored by the Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Calgary and held on January 19^th, 2007:

• Our children are medically ill.

• The cause of autism is multifactorial and complex.

• Treatment is possible and recovery is possible.

• Treatment needs to address a number of issues including:

  • Measures to Heal the Gut: Children with autism have been shown to have pathological changes from the esophagus through to the ileum and colon. The majority of our children have serious gastrointestinal issues which need to be addressed as a key component in treatment protocols.

  • Nutritional Supplements: Most children cannot absorb nutrients well as a result of malabsorption. Laboratory testing can assess the often severe deficiencies in vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids.

  • Immunological Concerns: Many children are immune-compromised which leads to excessive bacterial and viral loads.

  • Environmental Issues: Children with autism often carry a high body burden of a variety of toxins due to impaired excretion. Appropriate testing to identify body burden of heavy metals and/or chemicals and ensuing treatment is often required.

  • Awareness of the impact of environmental toxins to the individual with autism and counsel to parents as to how they may reduce this load in the critical home environment.

  • Behavioural and physical therapies which remain a pillar in treatment.

  • Methylation Pathways: There has been significant research in this area and discovery that this pathway is dysfunctional in most of our children as a result of genetic mutations and/or blockages by a heavy metal such as lead, aluminum or mercury. A number of supplements can be given to circumvent genetic impairments in this pathway which affect many processes in the body including production of several neurotransmitters and glutathione. The most important of these is injectable methylcobalamin. This has been one of the single most effective treatments for our children and we have many stories to tell in Calgary of speech gains, improved behaviour, cognitive improvement and reduced seizure activity as a result of this therapy.

• Sleep is a significant issue for many of our children and melatonin can be beneficial in this regard.

• We need to have safe vaccines and vaccine schedules.

  • There is a misconception amongst doctors that those pursuing biomedical interventions are against vaccines. It is certainly true that many parents can state anecdotally that their children regressed after vaccines but few parents believe that vaccines have been the only causal factor in their child's neurodevelopmental problems.

  • (Note, the work of Dr. Boyd Haley, one of the conference speakers, contributed greatly to mercury in Thimerosal being removed from routine childhood vaccines in North America between 1999 and 2001. Mercury has been removed from most of the childhood vaccines in Canada but it is still in the flu shot and the meningitis vaccine.)

A biomedical approach really just means treating specific physiological impairments in our children’s bodies.