Dig Deeper – Autism Spectrum Disorder and Infectious Diseases

Preventable cases of autism: relationship between chronic infectious diseases and neurological outcome

Abstract:

There is evidence that chronic infections and the immune reactions associated with them may contribute to causing autism spectrum disorders. These infections include Babesia, Bartonella, Borrelia burgdorferi, Ehrlichia, Human herpesvirus-6, Chlamydia pneumoniae, and Mycoplasma (in particular Mycplasma dermentans). Maternal immune reactions to infections appear to adversely affect fetal brain development and possible pathophysiological mechanisms include both inflammatory cytokines, such as IL-6 and maternal antibodies to fetal neural tissue of the same kilodalton mass as those seen with B. burgdorferi and some other chronic infections. The timing of the infection and immune response is critical in determining the pathophysiology. It is advisable to evaluate women who are pregnant or planning on becoming pregnant for chronic infections, especially if they demonstrate symptoms of an infection or a systemic illness with persistent inflammatory symptoms. The mother and the newborn should be treated when indicated.

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Chronic Mycoplasmal Infections in Autism Patients

Abstract:

A majority of Autism patients have systemic bacterial, viral and fungal infections that may play an important part in their illnesses. We found that immediate family members of veterans diagnosed with Gulf War Illnesses (GWI) often complain of fatiguing illnesses, and upon analysis they report similar signs and symptoms as their veteran family members, except that their children are often diagnosed with Autism. Since a relatively common finding in GWI patients is a bacterial infection due to Mycoplasma fermentans, we examined military families (149 patients: 42 veterans, 40 spouses, 32 other relatives and 35 children with at least one family complaint of illness) selected from a group of 110 veterans with GWI who tested positive (~42%) for mycoplasmal infections. Consistent with previous results, over 80% of GWI patients who were positive for blood mycoplasmal infections had only one Mycoplasma species, M. fermentans. In healthy control subjects the incidence of mycoplasmal infection was ~8.5% and none were found to have multiple mycoplasmal species (P<0.001). In 107 family members of mycoplasma-positive GWI patients there were 57 patients (53%) that had essentially the same signs and symptoms as the veterans and were diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS/ME) and/or Fibromyalgia Syndrome. The majority of children (n=35) in this group were diagnosed with autism. Most of these CFS or Autism patients also had mycoplasmal infections compared to the few non-symptomatic family members (P<0.001), and the most common species found was M. fermentans. In contrast, in the few non-symptomatic family members that tested mycoplasma-positive, the Mycoplasma species were usually different from the species found in the GWI patients. The results suggest that a subset of GWI patients have mycoplasmal infections, and these infections can be transmitted to immediate family members who subsequently display similar signs and symptoms, except for their children who are often diagnosed with Autism. In a separate study in Central California we examined autism patients and also found a high incidence of mycoplasmal infections, but in contrast to the military families a variety of Mycoplasma species were detected in Autism patients.

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Similarities of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) and Autism Spectrum Disorders

Abstract:

The majority of neurodegenerative diseases, fatiguing illnesses and neurobehavioral disease patients have chronic infections. Therefore, we examined the presence of certain co-infections in the blood of patients with Autism Spectrum Disorders [ASD) and compared these to CFS patients.

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The association between tick-borne infections, Lyme borreliosis and autism spectrum disorders

Abstract:

Chronic infectious diseases, including tick-borne infections such as Borrelia burgdorferi may have direct effects, promote other infections and create a weakened, sensitized and immunologically vulnerable state  during fetal development and infancy leading to increased vulnerability for developing autism spectrum disorders. A dysfunctional synergism with other predisposing and contributing factors may contribute to autism spectrum disorders by provoking innate and adaptive immune reactions to cause and perpetuate effects in susceptible individuals that result in inflammation, molecular mimicry, kynurenine pathway changes, increased quinolinic acid and decreased serotonin, oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction and excitotoxicity that impair the development of the amygdala and other neural structures and neural networks resulting in a partial Klu¨ver–Bucy Syndrome and other deficits resulting in autism spectrum disorders and/or exacerbating autism spectrum disorders from other causes throughout life.

Support for this hypothesis includes multiple cases of mothers with Lyme disease and children with autism spectrum disorders; fetal neurological abnormalities associated with tick-borne diseases;  similarities between tick-borne diseases and autism spectrum disorder regarding symptoms, pathophysiology, immune reactivity, temporal lobe pathology, and brain imaging data; positive reactivity in several studies with autistic spectrum disorder patients for Borrelia burgdorferi (22%, 26% and 20–30%) and 58% for mycoplasma; similar geographic distribution and improvement in autistic symptoms from antibiotic treatment. It is imperative to research these and all possible causes of autism spectrum disorders in order to prevent every preventable case and treat every treatable case until this disease has been eliminated from humanity.

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The Lyme-Autism Connection

Abstract:

With just one year into analyzing the connection between Lyme disease and autism, new data has been released to put this connection into perspective. Numbers indicate that 20-30% of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) may be infected with Lyme Borreliosis, and pathogenic Mycoplasma may be a contributor in 58% of cases. With these staggering numbers, families and physicians need education on the proper testing and treatment methods currently available. With these percentages representing around 140,000 cases of autism in the United States alone, the human impact of this disease is staggering.

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Chronic Bacterial and Viral Infections in Neurodegenerative and Neurobehavioral Diseases

Abstract:

Often, patients with neurodegenerative or neurobehavioral diseases have chronic, neuropathic infections that could be important in disease inception, disease progression, or increasing the types or severities of signs and symptoms. Although controversial, the majority of patients with various neurodegenerative or neurobehavioral conditions, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and autistic spectrum disorders, show evidence of central nervous system or systemic bacterial and viral infections. For example, using serology or polymerase chain reaction evidence of Chlamydia pneumoniae, Borrelia burgdorferi, Mycoplasma species, human herpesvirus-1 and -6, and other bacterial and viral infections revealed high infection rates that were not found in control subjects. Although chronic infections were not found in some studies, and the specific role of chronic infections in neurological disease pathogenesis has not been determined or is inconclusive, the data suggest that chronic bacterial or viral infections could be common features of progressive neurodegenerative and neurobehavioral diseases.

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Divergent opinions of proper Lyme disease diagnosis and implications for children co-morbid with autism spectrum disorder

Abstract:

This paper proposes that some children with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in the United States have undiagnosed Lyme disease and different testing criteria used by commercial laboratories may be  producing false negative results. Two testing protocols will be evaluated; first, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA) approved two-tiered Enzyme Immunoassay (EIA) or Immunofluorescence Assay (IFA) followed by an IgM and/or IgG Western Blot test. Second, a clinical diagnosis (flu like symptoms, joint pain, fatigue, neurological symptoms, etc.) possibly followed by a Western Blot with a broader criteria for positive bands [1]. The hypothesis proposes that the former criteria may be producing false  negative results for some individuals diagnosed with an ASD. Through an online survey parents of 48 children who have a diagnosis of an ASD and have been diagnosed with Lyme disease were asked to fill out the Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist (ATEC) before they started antibiotic therapy and after treatment. Of the 48 parents surveyed 45 of them (94%) indicated their child initially tested negative  using the two-tiered CDC/IDSA approved test. The parents sought a second physician who diagnosed their child with Lyme disease using the  wider range of Western Blot bands. The children were treated with antibiotics and their scores on the ATEC improved. Anecdotal data indicated that some of the children achieved previously unattained developmental milestones after antibiotic therapy began. Protein bands OSP-A and/or OSP-B (Western Blot band 31) and (Western Blot band 34) were found in 44 of 48 patients. These two bands are so specific to Borrelia burgdorferi that they were targeted for use in vaccine trials, yet are not included in the IDSA interpretation of the Western Blot.

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