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Autism/Asperger's Research Program
at Arizona State University
directed by Prof. James B. Adams |
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Research Programs: Current ProjectsBaby Tooth StudySummary: Evaluate the level of mercury, lead, and zinc in baby teeth of children with autism compared to controls. Preliminary Results: Children with autism have 3x as much mercury in their baby teeth, but only slightly higher levels of lead and normal levels of zinc. Recommendation: Preventing mercury exposure could prevent many cases of autism. Removal of heavy metals may help reduce autistic symptoms, especially in young children. Funded by the Autism Research Institute Essential Fatty Acid Treatment StudySummary: Double-blind, placebo-controlled study of effect of essential fatty acids (omega 3 from fish oil) on children and adults with autism. Results: Possible minor improvement in group who received ProDHA, primarily due to small improvement in social interactions. ProOmega group did slightly worse than placebo. Improvement tended to be greater in those consuming less seafood (0-1 servings/month) Recommendation: ProDHA (from Nordic Naturals, www.nordicnaturals.com) may have small benefit. Additional note: A recent open-label study in Tucson suggests that ProEFA (which also has a small amount of omega-6) produced more positive results than our study, so ProEFA may be better than ProDHA, but further research is needed. Funded by the Autism Research Institute, with the assistance of the ASA Chapters of SE Wisconsin, Central Tennessee, Delaware, Greater Phoenix, and San Diego. Vitamin B6Summary: Evaluate level of vitamin B6 in children with autism compared to typical children Result: Children with autism have 70% higher level of vitamin B6 in their blood. This suggests a decreased ability to convert vitamin B6 to the active form, P5P. Recommendation: Over 20 research studies of vitamin B6 have found that high doses of it help roughly 50% of children and adults with autism. We recommend the dosages suggested by Bernard Rimland, which are 8 mg of B6 per pound bodyweight, and 4 mg of Mg per pound bodyweight, especially if a child has high urinary kryptopyrole levels. Funded by Arizona State University Mercury Release from Dental FillingsGoal: Evaluate the amount of mercury release from new and old dental fillings Result: New dental fillings emit approximately 500 mcg/day of mercury, and it takes many months for the release rate to decrease to a few mcg/day. Note that the FDA safe exposure limit is approximately 7 mcg/day for a 150 pound adult. Funded by Arizona State University Medical RecordsGoal: Evaluate physician medical records of children with autism, including evaluations of RBC minerals, CBC, CDSA tests
Status: Evaluating records Funded by the ICDRC |