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A study has revealed that two novel — and somewhat unusual — therapies may help treat symptoms in individuals with autism; one involves using hot tubs to raise body temperature and the other involves the ingesting of parasitic worms.
There's been considerable evidence recently suggesting that inflammation may play an important role in mediating neuropsychiatric symptoms. Growing evidence suggests that the condition may be a result of an over-active immune system, which results in high levels of inflammation. This theory is supported by the fact that about a third of autistic individuals show clinical improvement when they have a fever or are placed in a hot environment such as a hot tub at 102 degrees Fahrenheit.
In the second part of the study, the researchers examined the effects of treating 10 high-functioning autistic adults with Trichuris suis ova (TSO) — the eggs of the worm Trichuris Trichiura (whip worm). Research has shown that worms learn to survive in humans by dampening the body's inflammatory responses.
"What we found was when they were on the worm, there was an improvement in three different scales that measured rigidity, flexibility or insistence on sameness," Hollander said.
Their findings http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/12/12/how-parasitic-worms-and-hot-tubs-may-treat-autism-symptoms/ still need to be replicated.
(Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 17 2014, @10:06PM
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Subsentient on Sunday August 17 2014, @10:10PM
Tell that to the people slamming their head on the desk and waving their hands in repetitive motions.
I've seen that. Aspergers is an illness too, but it has advantages. It's on the autism spectrum.
Honestly the autoimmune idea seems like a good one. Give everyone immuno-suppressants and see if it helps.
"It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society." -Jiddu Krishnamurti
(Score: 2) by Theophrastus on Sunday August 17 2014, @10:18PM
i will assume that every pathetic case depicted here [google.com] is the direct result of mistreating this "not an illness"?
it's comments like this anonymous-coward's which make the parents of these poor folks particularly horrible as they end up blaming themselves.
Autism is misunderstood, emotionalized, and politicized exactly because it's so hard for the experts to characterize. It is very likely, for example, not a single (divisible) pathology.
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Monday August 18 2014, @03:16AM
Mistreating, misunderstanding, though mostly intolerance, ignorance, and a lack of empathy for what the kids are going through.
It is amazing the difference in behavior of kids with autism when switching them between caregivers who "get it" and those who don't.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 2) by tathra on Sunday August 17 2014, @11:30PM
finding the causes and treatments for autism is important for "neurotypicals" too because it could lead us into unlocking the secret to savant syndrome [wikipedia.org], perhaps even allowing us to induce savantism without any of the downsides that typically accompany it.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 17 2014, @11:37PM
> allowing us to induce savantism
Sounds like The Focused in Vernor Vinge's classic, A Deepness in the Sky. [wikipedia.org]
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Monday August 18 2014, @03:13AM
Read a bit about Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (yes, it is a real thing - though it might better be named Suppression than Stimulation since the stimulation usually serves to block functions.) It is limited in the brain regions it can reach, but they have achieved some interesting results.
🌻🌻 [google.com]