Autism on the Seas

If you were wondering what kind of family vacation you could possibly take with a child on the spectrum, look no further!  Autism on the Seas has packages that cater specifically to autism families.

 

http://www.alumnicruises.org/Autism/Autism_Home.htm

How to talk to a child with autism

Thimerasol Causing Brain Problems in Rats

Vaccine Adjuvant Alters Neurological Function in Rat Experiment, Symptoms Identical to Autism -- Lourdes Salvador November 30, 2009 Autism is a neurodevelopmental disability characterized by social withdrawal, communication deficits, and repetitive behaviors. Both genetic and environmental factors have been implicated as causes of autism, moreover a high body burden of mercury and other toxic metals from vaccinations and environmental exposures has been increasingly given more attention.   Thimerosal is mercury containing vaccine preservative added to many childhood vaccines. It is widely suspected as a cause of an increasing widespread epidemic of childhood neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism. Now, a new study shows that administration of thimerosal leads to long lasting neurological impairment in rats, specifically by altering the neural process of handling noxious stimuli. Analysis also shows that significant amounts of mercury from thimerosal accumulates in the rat brain and remains long term. The mercury is not readily cleared, as was previously believed. Though mercury readily leaves the blood stream, it does not leave the body. It is now recognized to accumulate in brain tissue.   Additionally, this research is supported by various prior studies which show that children with autism suffer from a weak ability to excrete mercury and that the weaker the ability, the more severe the symptoms of autism.   Now, two new research studies investigating the effects of chelation therapy on the health and behavior of children with autism spectrum disorders have discovered that children receiving chelation to reduce mercury levels had significant improvements. It appears that mercury may produce the symptom set recognized in the autism spectrum disorders as a form of autism.   References Adams JB, Baral M, Geis E, Mitchell J, Ingram J, Hensley A, Zappia I, Newmark S, Gehn E, Rubin RA, Mitchell K, Bradstreet J, El-Dahr J. Safety and efficacy of oral DMSA therapy for children with autism spectrum disorders: part A--medical results. BMC Clin Pharmacol. 2009 Oct 23;9:16. Adams JB, Baral M, Geis E, Mitchell J, Ingram J, Hensley A, Zappia I, Newmark S, Gehn E, Rubin RA, Mitchell K, Bradstreet J, El-Dahr J. Safety and efficacy of oral DMSA therapy for children with autism spectrum disorders: part B - behavioral results. BMC Clin Pharmacol. 2009 Oct 23;9:17. Olczak M, Duszczyk M, Mierzejewski P, Majewska MD. Neonatal administration of a vaccine preservative, thimerosal, produces lasting impairment of nociception and apparent activation of opioid system in rats. Brain Res. 2009 Dec 8;1301:143-51. Epub 2009 Sep 9. This article originally appeared in the MCS America News, December 2009 Issue http://mcs-america.org/december2009.pdf . For more articles on this topic, see: MCSA News. Copyrighted 2009 Lourdes Salvador & MCS America

Utah scientist makes breakthrough in mental illness research

 

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=10947928&autostart=y <<< CLICK HERE to Watch Video Intreview!!!   Utah scientist makes breakthrough in mental illness research   By Jennifer Stagg   SALT LAKE CITY -- It is heartbreaking to see someone you love suffer from mental illness. Now a famous Utah scientist says he's made a big breakthrough in the research to find a cure. Doctors have traditionally treated mental illness with drugs to alter the brain's chemistry, but the University of Utah's Nobel Prize-winning geneticist Dr. Mario Capecchi tried a new approach on a lab mouse. He treated the animal for the illness the same way you would many other illnesses -- by treating its immune system.   Capecchi says compulsive behavior doesn't just affect people. In fact, he had a lab mouse who was suffering from the condition trichotillomania, where one pulls their own hair out. Scientists say it was the mouse that led to the ground-breaking discovery as they found a way to cure him. "There's a direct correlation, in essence, between the immune system and behavior," Capecchi says. He says scientists have known for years that there is a connection between behavior and the immune system, but they didn't quite understand it. Now he and his team have discovered it all has to do with a tiny cell called microglia. Microglia were believed to be "scavenger cells" that would clean up damage in the brain, but Capecchi says the cells are much more powerful than they were letting on. "What we're saying is microglia are much more sophisticated and are actually controlling behavior, and they have to do it by interacting the nerve cells in your brain," Capecchi says.   They found people and animals afflicted with behavior disorders have deformed microglia cells. So, instead of treating mental illness the way doctors traditionally have -- with medication to alter brain chemistry -- they tried a new approach by treating the immune system. The researchers used a procedure on the mouse that's commonly practiced on cancer patients -- a bone marrow transplant. "That cured the disease permanently," Capecchi says. "All the hair grew back, all the lesions were healed, and the mouse no longer removes the body hair." Capecchi says this new discovery could lead to cures for mental disorders from autism to schizophrenia. "The book is just opened, and so there are many, many possibilities; and hopefully not only will we pursue it, but also hopefully it will interest other researchers, other investigators, to pursue similar experiments," Capecchi says.   What are... microglia? Microglia are immune system cells that originate in bone marrow and migrate from blood to the brain acting as the first and main form of active immune defense in the central nervous system (CNS) defending the brain and spinal cord, constantly excavating the CNS and attacking and engulfing infectious agents.   E-mail: jstagg@ksl.com