My thoughts on the Autism Enigma

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So as a psychology assignment we had to watch a documentary and I picked the Autism Enigma from The Nature of things CBC show and it was basically about the theory that microbes in the gut get killed by antibiotics and it leaves a aggressive microbe in the gut that causes autism, and that autism can be cured by replacing the lost microbes. This treatment has worked on children in regressive autism and has deminished their symptoms or sometimes there are reports of "curing" them, however they almost always revert back.

The thing about this documentary ( which you can watch online ) is it fails to call attention to the actual symptoms of autism and only mentions behaviours such as hand flapping, isolation, and lack of speech. In fact, I don't think it even lists the symptoms at all. Which is key, if you look at the behaviours that went away after the treatment it almost always corresponds to sensory issues, so I don't think the microbe cures autism but helps to make sensory sensitivies less intense and more bearable.

If you have seen the documentary what do you think?

I have not seen this documentary.

However, as I've shared here for the last year and a half or so, I have & continue to do this for myself.

I can tell you first hand that it's literally countless symptoms that are either gone or greatly improved, not just sensory things or outward stims - but thought processes, facial expressions, anxiety/depression etc etc etc - virtually everything described in Tony Attwood's book "The complete guide to Asperger's Syndrome." I'm much more intuitively socially connected to all of those around me vs. intellectually processing everything in order to try to keep up with the present moment. It feels fluid & natural, because it is, vs. forced.

Taken from wikipedia:

"Propionic acid inhibits the growth of mold and some bacteria at the levels between 0.1 and 1% by weight. As a result, most propionic acid produced is consumed as a preservative for both animal feed and food for human consumption. For animal feed, it is used either directly or as its ammonium salt. The antibiotic Monensin is added to cattle feed to favor propionibacteria over acetic acid producers in the rumen; this produces less carbon dioxide and feed conversion is better. This application accounts for about half of the world production of propionic acid. Another major application is as a preservative in baked goods, which use the sodium and calcium salts.[11] As a food additive, it is approved for use in the EU,[13] USA[14] and Australia and New Zealand.[15] It is listed by its INS number (280) or E number E280.

Propionic acid is also useful as an intermediate in the production of other chemicals, especially polymers. Cellulose-acetate-propionate is a useful thermoplastic. Vinyl propionate is also used. In more specialized applications, it is also used to make pesticides and pharmaceuticals. The esters of propionic acid have fruit-like odors and are sometimes used as solvents or artificial flavorings.[11]"

Yeah I'm not sure gut bacteria is the main source of propionic acid in people.

Yes, the documentary does not explore the actual reasons in that one kid. That's why it's still being studied.

On the other hand, I think that propionic acid that's used a preservative in bread is the winner for an explanation about why some autistic people who go gluten-free improve.

The central issue/problem in theories like this is the confusion of effect and cause. These are not simple relationships. There may even be unsuspected relationships where some factors are both causal and effects to varying degrees, depending on the presence or absence of agonists, combined with the impact of individual genetic inheritance profiles. So it is complex.

Reductionist psychology (which is increasingly what academic psychology has become) does not care for these complexities; and people by and large gravitate to simple answers, though Occam's razor is, in fact, rather more of a double edged sword than a razor when applied to complex syndromes.

One size doesn't ever fit all in ASDs; one complex study in Nature suggested that according to rodent studies, PPA may be a factor in 17% of ASDs; but then we are not rodents...

This is actually quite fascinating i hadn't anticipated a person with experience with the treatment to reply.I also didn't know the treatment was that effective. Thank you for your comment.

Since I haven't seen the documentary, I don't know what their exact treatment protocol is. I basically developed my own from several sources of information and have been posting about it here on wrongplanet for the last year and a half because it's been so positively life changing. At first people here essentially called me a liar, but now more people are coming around to the idea that what I continue to share is the real deal. In time, I believe diet/probiotics etc to treat gut dysbiosis will be the go-to treatment for most cases of Autism.

http://www.cbc.ca/natureofthings/episodes/autism-enigma

I wouldn't be surprised if the link only works for canadians though.

I just watched it. I learned a few things, ie specific bacteria strains that cause ASD problems, and that antibiotics can't kill their spores, and about that acid some of them produce that contributes to ASD etc. But in general, even though my microbiology knowledge is lesser, my diet/intestinal cleanse/probiotic treatment protocol is more extensive & intensive than anything they described in the video. It's all the same stuff, though. I'm going to see if I can find contact information for one or two of the people in the vid & share what I've learned and done with them as they're the type of people to A) believe it. B) perhaps build upon it.