An Immune Disorder at the Root of Autism

[Calida]

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/26/opinion/sunday/immune-disorders-and-autism.html?_r=4

Here’s a semi-old report (2012) from the New York Times that, once again, blames a devastating disease on “immune dysfunction”. Instead of blaming the victim, the immune system, why doesn’t science look for the perpetrator, the microbe(s) that started the immune “dysfunction” that results in inflammatory disease? It’s heartbreaking…

“In some cases, scientists even see a misguided immune response in action. Mothers of autistic children often have unique antibodies that bind to fetal brain proteins. ”

During a recent conversation among 4 APers, one suggested that antibodies may, in fact, designate a specific microbe, not a disease. Of everything I’ve learned about autoimmune disease, I thought this was the most brilliant insight I’ve heard or read. The “unique antibodies” mentioned in the quote above may be a “unique infectious microbe” that triggers chronic inflammation in the brain of an autistic child. My scleroderma antibody, scl-70, may be microbe-70. It would certainly explain why I’ve responded so well to AP.

After that conversation, I spent days with my head buried in a pathology textbook, specifically the chapter on the immune system. Nothing in this medical book contradicts the theory put forth by our fellow APer. In fact, I found that the words “self” vs “non-self” used to describe autoimmune disease vs immune response to a foreign microbe could easily be replaced with the words “unknown infectious microbe” vs “known infectious microbe” without contradicting everything known about immune function today.

The introduction to the article:

An Immune Disorder at the Root of Autism
By MOISES VELASQUEZ-MANOFFAUG. 25, 2012

“IN recent years, scientists have made extraordinary advances in understanding the causes of autism, now estimated to afflict 1 in 88 children. But remarkably little of this understanding has percolated into popular awareness, which often remains fixated on vaccines.

So here’s the short of it: At least a subset of autism — perhaps one-third, and very likely more — looks like a type of inflammatory disease. And it begins in the womb.

It starts with what scientists call immune dysregulation…..”

Dx: Diffuse Systemic Sclerosis/SLE overlap, Raynaud's June 2013, Lyme August 2013
AP: Azithromycin (Teva) 250mg BID, May 2014, Clindamycin 600mg every 8 hours for 2 weeks July 27, 2015 - Aug 10, 2015
Minocycline (Teva generic) 100mg BID November 20, 2014
Meds: LDN 3.5 mg, Prednisone 5 mg (discontinued), Aspirin 81mg, Liposomal Artimisinin 50mg QID x 3 weeks, 4th week off, rotating (discontinued May 2015, restarted 2016 7 days per month), Daily Nystatin, 2 tabs BID, as a preventative measure
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