According to a September 6th,
2012 Fox News report, scientists from the University of California, San Diego
and Yale schools of medicine discovered giving massive doses of Branch Chain
Amino Acids (BCAAs) reduces neurobehavioral symptoms in mice who have the same
genetics as SOME autistic individuals with epilepsy.
The strange part about this
study is some of the parents in the study are apparently “related to each
other.” That’s weird.
One wonders how closely they
were related. The article doesn’t say. Well, since my autistic son’s biological
father is in no way related to me, I guess we don’t qualify for this study.
Yet, it is of interest that
amino acid supplementation of BCAAs (leucine, isoleucine and valine) is a potential treatment for autism and epilepsy.
Interestingly, doctors often
prescribe IV amino acids for people who have suffered traumatic brain injuries,
systemic infections or are under extreme stress from some type of serious
injury.
Given my son also suffers
from chronic self-injurious behaviors it would therefore make sense to supplement
his diet with BCCAs.
There’s one catch.
Research also shows branch
chain amino acids compete with amino acid Tryptophan, which is responsible for
elevating serotonin levels in the brain. Thus, if the autistic person with
epilepsy is serotonin deficient, one might consider also supplementing with
5HTP or L-Tryptophan. Of course you won’t know if the autistic person is
deficient in serotonin unless doctors do a pet scan or use other diagnostic
tools to test serotonin levels. Good luck getting that order.
Oral supplementation (liquid
form best) appears to be most effective way to ingest BCAAs.
What foods are highest in
BCAAs?
Research shows soybeans,
salami (Yuk), peanuts, egg yolks (Yum), wheat germ and beef are high in LEUCINE.
Eggs, fish, cheese, oats, tofu
and raw soy meal are high in ISOLEUCINE.
Lentils, black beans,
garbanzo beans, cottage cheese, chicken, cheese, potatoes and broccoli are high
in VALINE.
Kim Oakley
3 comments:
Autistic mice--who knew?
PET scans are really expensive.
My nephew had one, he had a brain tumor and his doctor had to personally speak with the insurance company to get approval. They will approve for cancer but I would think getting one for autism would be very difficult.
I work for an insurance company in the prior authorization department.
Brain PETs are generally approved for differentiating between recurrent tumor and radiation necrosis or to differentiate between frontal temporal dementia and Alzheimer's and a whole laundry list of specifics must be met first.
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