The Relationship Between Autism and Antidepressants

Autism is a disorder that affects a child's ability to communicate and interact with other people. The long list of proposed autism causes includes genetic and environmental factors. Some recent studies also show a link between autism and antidepressants.

What are the signs of autism?
Autism symptoms often start showing when a child is around six months old. They become more apparent at the age of 2-3, and continue up to adulthood. Autism has three general symptoms, all of which need to be present for a child to be called autistic.

- Impaired social interaction-Children with autism do not have the basic social instincts many people take for granted. Autistic children do not respond to their own names as often as normal children would, and rarely make eye contact with those speaking to them. They also have difficulty expressing themselves with hand gestures, such as pointing.

- Impaired communication-Most autistic children have difficulty developing enough speaking skills to communicate. Children who babble or speak in patterns completely different from their caregivers are most likely autistic. As they grow older, autistic children usually repeat others' words instead of speaking on their own.

- Repetitive behavior -Autistic children display repetitive or restricted behaviors. These include stereotypy, or repeated movements and gestures; compulsive behavior, such as arranging objects in lines or stacks; and ritualistic behavior, or daily repetition of the exact same activities.

What causes autism?

Autism is a complex disorder, and most studies on it are incomplete. There are several proposed theories regarding autism causes. Genetic factors are the most common, but it remains unclear which genes affect a child's probability of developing autism. A child whose parent had autism will not always develop the disorder, but the chances of it happening are high.

Environmental factors a child is exposed to while in the mother's womb also affect the development of autism. One common cause is the mother's own immune response to viral infections. If triggered during early pregnancy, this immune response has a negative effect on the development of the child's brain and nervous system.

Some studies propose other factors that can cause autism to develop shortly after the child is born. These include mercury poisoning, certain vaccinations, viral infections, and exposure to opiates.

Autism and antidepressants

According to laboratory tests done on animals, the intake of antidepressant substances called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) in high amounts resulted in autism-like behaviors. Further studies show exposure to SSRI increases the probability a child will develop autism up to four times. This means women taking antidepressants containing SSRI during pregnancy risk increasing the chances their child will be born autistic.

Like most of the research done on autism causes, the studies linking autism and antidepressants are still incomplete. Despite this, many doctors advise pregnant mothers to be aware of the potential risks involved when taking SSRI drugs during pregnancy.

If you were taking antidepressants during your pregnancy and your child developed autism, you can look for an autism attorney to help you acquire compensation from the company that produced the drugs.

Adriana knows all about autism causes, and possible link between autism and antidepressants.

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The Link Between Magnesium and Seizures

My best friends Cherie and Margaret have children with autism who get seizures. This got me to wondering why their children get seizures and CJ didn't? We feel blessed that is one issue that CJ never had to deal with. But why? Once CJ was diagnosed with autism, I kept him on a strict diet that includes lots of amino acids, DHA and vitamin D3. Could that be it? These nutrients feed the brain and possibly kept him from getting seizures. So I started to some research and this is what I found.

About 1 in 4 children with autism develop seizures sometimes during puberty. The exact cause is unknown, but Interestingly, vitamin B6 with magnesium as well as dimethylglycine (DMG) have been known to reduce or eliminate seizure activity in some individuals, even in cases where seizure drugs are ineffective.

I found this story by Kathy Price to be most interesting. She wrote about her daughter's experience with seizures. Her daughter was put through so many tests; MRI, EKG, EEG and x-rays. Nothing conclusive turned up, but the doctor wanted to put her daughter on Keppra. Kathy did not want to try this drug as she felt the adverse side effects out weighed any possible good it may do. She heard of Dr Chris Meletis, ND and spoke with him regarding her daughter's seizures and her concerns. He understood why she wouldn't want to give her daughter the Keppra and recommended that she give her daughter supplements. These included magnesium, DHA, L-theanine, GABA and vitamin D3 to prevent the seizures. Almost immediately her daughter's seizure's stopped. Kathy couldn't believe the difference in her daughter. It became very clear just how important the magnesium and other supplements were to her daughter when they skipped a dose one morning. That afternoon her daughter had a seizure during her dance recital!

It is so important to have all the supplements your body needs to function. Your brain and gut depend on nutrients such as magnesium, amino acids, DHA and vitamin D3. Did you know that an irritated gut could be a factor in seizures?

It makes sense if you think about it. I always talk about how the gut and brain are connected right? So if the gut is irritated it can cause spasms that interfere with the cerebral cortex which can result in a seizure. So a goal for someone with seizures would be to get a healthy gut. An anti-inflammatory diet is recommended, as well as a gluten-free, casein-free diet to make sure you get all the nutrients you need.

I just found out that food allergies and gluten intolerance is something else that needs to be looked into if your child has seizures. We put CJ on a GFCF, no sugar, corn or soy diet at an early age and I didn't even know this. You can imagine how hard this was to do 12 years ago when there were not as many choices available. It's amazing how eating the right foods and NOT eating the wrong foods can affect your whole health. I told you that I think the nutrients CJ gets in his diet have not only healed his gut, but fed his brain as well. Your body and your child's body are amazing-take care of them. Our bodies want to heal and restore, give it what it needs-your quality of life depends on it!

While I'm in Oregon, I'm going to try and meet Dr. Melites. I'm fascinated by what he has been doing I asked my friend Cherie and Margaret to contact him too. We'll keep you posted.

PS. How weird is it that the attorney's son for mine and Jeff's company has been in the hospital all week due to seizures? Michael has also been having bouts with terrible gut issues and constipation. The MRI last month showed nothing wrong. Neither did the 24 hour brain test. The doctors should check his magnesium levels!

The company's CEO and Founder Tamara Yapp, a mother of seven and wife, is the lively, relatable host of http://www.realfoodreallife.tv/ She created this company and this show to provide information on the newest and most effective ways to lead a healthy lifestyle.

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Is There a Link Between Autism and Diet?

An article about autism in a major newspaper says it all with just one headline: "Science disputes autism's diet link." This one headline conveys that there may be a connection between diet and autism, and that some scientists have rejected the idea.

The article features Tina Szenasi, a mother of three boys in Barrie, Ontario. The article implies that all three of her children are autistic. According the the article, her sons improved within weeks of starting an elimination diet - a reasonable time frame to expect.

Many parents with autistic children feel that by changing their child's diet (specifically, eliminating wheat and milk, the GFCF diet), they can notice a difference in their child's behaviour. Results reported by parents and teachers seem to vary from subtle to dramatic.

"Farfetched" a doctor in the article is quoted as saying. But are trained to recognize symptoms that can be masked or eliminated by surgery or a prescription. Many doctors are weak on nutrition, and prevention in general.

Since an elimination diet does not make money for either the medical industry, or the pharmaceutical industry, there is little incentive to recommend eliminating wheat or milk from an autistic child's diet, or to study it in detail (given that most medical research these days seems to be funded by the profit-making medical industry).

According to the article, "most mainstream scientists remain skeptical of the gut-brain connection in autism". Most scientists of course, do not study such a connection, so it is a little hard to understand what this statement means, other than the newspaper shying away from the anecdotal evidence supplied by parents.

The article mentions one study, published in March 2006 in the the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders which is unable to find a "significant" improvement for children on the GFCF diet. It would be helpful to know what their definition of significant is, and for how long the children remained on the elimination diet.

It is also possible that autism is a complicated disease with more than one cause, depending on the child. A small study would see this as "noise", but if wheat and milk really are responsible for autism in some cases, and your child is one of them, the diet just may work for you.

Meanwhile, there is an industry at the fringes, capitalizing on the possible dietary link between wheat/milk and autism. From specialty foods to specialty tests, there is an economic interest to suggesting an elimination diet. Not all businesses seeking to capitalize on the "autistic market" are necessarily credible, ethical or legitimate. It is a case of "buyer beware".

But do you really have to spend big money on an elimination diet? No. If you avoid prepared foods and cook from basic ingredients, there is no need to consume large quantities of specialty foods. This does take time of course.

Conclusion

Eliminating wheat and milk from anyone's diet, child or adult, is not harmful. The foods you eat instead of wheat and milk could even be more healthy than what they replaced, if you choose carefully (see wheat alternatives).

If an elimination diet has a noticeable effect on your child's health, then it is worth the effort. If it does not make a difference after a couple of months, you can drop it.

Eliminating wheat and milk from your child's diet is a low-risk experiment. It is also non-medical, so don't be dissuaded by your doctor.

It is also possible that in some cases, an autistic child could have more than one problem. Why not autism and a food allergy, making the autism worse?

While not autistic, I am here to tell you from personal experience, that an elimination diet can, in some cases make a huge difference to mood, behaviour, attention span, concentration, sleeping patterns, digestive function, and a whole host of other effects.

Don't get your hopes up. This diet may not work for your child. But by all means try it, and see if it does.

Good luck!

Have a gluten allergy? Find out more: Gluten Allergy

Read more about gluten-free diet

Copyright 2010 Douglas Samuel. May be republished providing above author information is included, and live links are used without the rel="nofollow" attribute.

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