The ASA's 39th National Conference on Autism Spectrum Disorders of ASA

The Westin Kierland Resort & Spa, Scottsdale, AZ

http://www.autism-society.org/
For a complete author index with session numbers, please click here
Friday, July 11, 2008: 10:45 AM-12:00 PM
Sun Ballroom B
#3613- Oxidative Stress & Autism: A Roadmap for Effective Treatment
This workshop will cover Pfeiffer Treatment Center's effective biomedical approaches involving prescribed and individualized nutrient therapy - vitamins, minerals, and amino acids - to treat the person's system to help direct treatment. Past and new research findings of Health Research Institute (the reseach and development arm of the organization) will also be discussed including the effects of oxidative stress and low metallothionein activity in ASD.

Presenter:Lewis Allen, M.D., FAAP, Health Research Institute/Pfeiffer Treatment Center, Pediatrician
 
Recent research has shown that oxidative stress is a dominant factor in autism-spectrum disorders (ASD). There are many different genetic defects that can predispose a child to ASD by weakened protection against oxidative stress, rendering the brain vulnerable to toxic metals., viruses and other environmental insults. The net result can be destruction of brain cells, incomplete maturation of the brain, and onset of autism.  The harmful effects of oxidative stress on brain development, methylation, sulfur chemistry, the G.I., tract, protein digestion, and immune function will be discussed.
 In 2000, Health Research Institute (HRI) and Pfeiffer Treatment Center (PTC) in Warrenville, Illinois, USA, discovered that diminished metallothionein protein (MT) activity is a distinctive feature of autism.  This abnormality is associated with severe oxidative stress, impaired brain development, and extreme sensitivity to toxic metals and other environmental substances. HRI has developed a MT-promotion therapy that is used in conjunction with special diets and other biochemical treatments.
 New research findings at PTC include (a) increased oxidative damage to vascular tissue; (b) depressed metallothionein in red blood cells, and (c) abnormal hormone chemistry.  In collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy Argonne National Laboratory and the University of Maryland, PTC has obtained the world’s first direct measurements of elements in brain tissues from persons with autism and in control groups.  The results provide strong evidence of abnormal metal metabolism in autism.  Advanced therapies for eliminating toxic metals, healing the blood/brain and intestinal barriers, and enhancing developments of new brain cells and synapses will be presented, along with an oxidative stress model of autism.  More information can be found on PTC’s website:  www.hriptc.org.

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