Dr. Sonya Doherty, N.D.

www.treatautism.ca
  Why is your child autistic?
  Can your child be treated?
  When does the DAN! approach work?
  Why is autism a biomedical problem?
  Why is it so difficult to treat?
  How do you treat autism?
“25% of developmental and neurological
problems in children could be caused by
environmental pollution combined with
genetic predisposition”
  Genetics = pre-existing weakness

  Environmental stressors
•  Environment – Heavy Metals, Chemical
Toxicity, Vaccines, Xenobiotics

•  Nutrient Deficiencies or conversion issues

•  Viruses or viral overload – CMV, measles,

paramyxoviruses, mumps, streptokinase|

•  Bacterial – Clostridia, Strep

•  Endocrine – thyroid function and adrenals

•  exponentially since 1990.

•  World figures as high as 90 per 10,000.

•  4:1 male to female ratio

•  The current prevalence in Canada = 1 in 110

•  1980 – 1 in 2500 children were dx with autism

•  1 in 6 children dx with DEVELOPMENTAL DISORDERS

(ADD/ADHD, Tourette’s, OCD, learning disabilities)
  1:50- Brick Township, NJ – Toxic
landfill

  1000% increase in California in 20

years

  Increase 100% in last 15 – 20 years

Why is ASD prevalence increasing?

  Risk 50 times with sibling

  375 times with identical twin

  Chromosomal abnormalities can be inherited or

altered in utero - Jan. 17th in the American Journal
of Human Genetics

The big question: What alters chromosomes?

 LDs

OCD

TS

AD/HD

ASD
  Children with ASD have too much
glutamate and not enough GABA
  Their brains are “hyperexcitable”

GABA Glutamate
Inhibits Excites

Calming effect on brain Chemically identical to MSG

Serotonin Dopamine
Learning Brain Function

Sleep Processing of info

Memory Sensitivity

Behaviour Perception of change

Noise Sensitivity Relaying info

Appetite Emotional Responses

  FDA and AAP –mercury amount given to infants from
vaccines EXCEEDS SAFETY LEVELS (237 mcg)

  Children can be exposed in utero to heavy metals –

chromosomal damage, receptor and NT damage, shuts
down enzymes

  250 chemicals in body fat of EVERY PERSON IN THE

WORLD

  Pesticides found in blood of newborn babies

  EPA - 1.16 million women of childbearing age eat

enough mercury contaminated fish to do damage a
fetus
  FDA and AAP –mercury amount given to infants from
vaccines EXCEEDS SAFETY LEVELS (237 mcg)

  Children can be exposed in utero to heavy metals –

chromosomal damage, receptor and NT damage, shuts
down enzymes

  250 chemicals in body fat of EVERY PERSON IN THE

WORLD

  Pesticides found in blood of newborn babies

  EPA - 1.16 million women of childbearing age eat

enough mercury contaminated fish to do damage a
fetus
  Neuropsychobiology – 1996 – Genetic
susceptibility in immune system – infection at
critical time triggers autism

  CDC confidential report on study linking autism

and vaccines resulted in lawsuit filed by 5000
families

“Infants exposed to more that 62.5 mcg of

mercury in first 3 months of life were 2.48
times more likely to develop autism”
 Autism rates

All Reporting Facilities, All Chemicals TRI-

(1987-2002)
Map shows 3,683 of 48,205 facilities reporting
nationwide
Chemicals-TRI Total toxicity
(Toxic Release
Inventory)
  Digestion
  Sleep – melatonin, sedative botanicals
  Eczema - EFAs
  Headaches – food allergies
  Anxiety – methylation!
  Depression – methylation!
  Evidence based medicine?
  Studying one thing at a time doesn’t work for
complex disorders
  Flood analogy: cause vs. damage caused
  In 1960 we knew folic acid prevented birth
defects – 2009 dose = 3-5 mg
  B12 needed to optimize folic acid – still have not
learned from known biochemistry – 5-MTHF
  Research has limitations but is important
  WE KNOW HOW TO HELP CHILDREN NOW!
  Oxidative stress
  Toxins and infectious agents
  Dysfunctional detox capacity
  Altered insulin response – need sugar to digest
  Serotonin and dopamine dysregulation
  GABA and glutamate imbalance
  Immune dysregulation
  Essential fatty acid deficiency
  Zinc / copper imbalances
  Amino acid deficiencies
  Altered enzyme function – MTR and CBS
  Persistent inflammation = brain allergy (TNF,
IL-6, IL-1)
  GSH – oxidative stress, inflammation and detox
  Dr. Jill James, PhD – methylation, glutathione

  Hannah Poling – Mitochondrial defects

  Dr. Judy Van de Water – antibodies against fetal

brain cells, monkey study

  Dr. McFabe – clostridia

  Dr. Martha Herbert – brain is “swollen”, oxidative

stress

  Dr. Vargas – persistent brain inflammation

  Dr. Singh – autoimmune hypothesis

  "In 1993 Dr. Singh, PhD found antibodies to

myelin basic protein in 50 to 60% ASD kids

  Another study of 27 found nearly 50% correlation

between MMR antibodies and antibodies to myelin
basic protein in serum

  Auto-antibodies to neuron-axon filament protein

(anti-NAFP) and glial fibrillary acidic protein (anti-
GFAP) were significantly higher [anti-NAFP (P = .
004)] and [anti-GFAP (P = .002)] in autistic
subjects, but not in MR subjects
  Dr. Needleman – lead

  Dr. Shaw – yeast

  Texas Studies – environmental toxicity

  Dr. Wakefield and Dr. Krigsman – inflammatory bowel

  Dr. Richard Deth – methyl and cognition

  Top
two risk factors are pre-natal viral
infection and a parent with anxiety and/or
depression (methylation!)

  Family
history of autoimmune disorders,
genetic dysfunction in detoxification and/
or gene-related vitamin, antioxidant and
other deficiencies
  In case-control analysis, a significant increase in
the reduced folate carrier (RFC1) G allele
frequency was found among case mothers, but
not among fathers or affected children

  Maternal G allele was associated with significant

increase in risk of autism whereas the inherited
genotype of the child was not Further, maternal
DNA from the autism mothers was found to be
significantly hypomethylated relative to reference
control DNA
Obstetrical complications associated with high
risk of developmental disorder
Prematurity (before 36 weeks)
Low birth weight (less than 2500 grams)
Respiratory Distress Syndrome
Rhesus Incompatibility (Rhogam)
C-section
Resuscitation
Severe fetal / neonatal infection
Hemolytic anemia / transfusion for anemia
Severe birth trauma
 Maternal risk factors for low birth weight
infant
Preeclampsia (homocysteine elevation risk factor – methylation!)
Nutrient deficiencies
Iron deficiency
Nausea / Vomiting – B6 deficiency?
Thyroid dysfunction – subclinical hypothyroidism
Folate handling
 Preterm Labour is a risk factor for autism and other
developmental disorders
Essential fatty acids decreases risk of preterm labour

•  European and North American populations, have shown

that omega-3 fatty acids, whether from dietary sources or
other supplementation, cause a significant increase in the
duration of pregnancy

•  Most significant predictor of infant health is age at birth

•  Essential fatty acid deficiency is a risk factor for preterm
labour, prolonged labour and labour complications

•  EFA deficiency is also a risk factor for developmental

disorders
Would you be interested in a drug for ASD that?

•  Regulate immunity – protect against

autoimmunity
•  Protect against infection – Clostridia, Yeast and
Strep
•  Detoxify metals and harmful chemicals
•  Absorb and synthesize nutrients including
essential fatty acids and zinc
•  Decrease inflammation
•  Increase energy
•  Increase serotonin by 95%
•  Increase neurotransmitter production – dopamine
Serotonin Dopamine
95% gut Lipid peroxidation and oxidative
stress inhibits breakdown

Gut: DPPIV enzyme deficiency, Gut absorption of co-factors that

yeast, clostridia, strep = make dopmaine
impaired protein breakdown

Methylation Defects Methylation Defects

Transulfation Impairment Transulfation Impairment

  Glutamate is converted to GABA – B6
  Gut issues impair conversion causing
“hyperexcitability”
  YEAST BINDS B6

  Self stimulating behaviour

  Hyperactivity
  Difficulty learning, processing and focusing
  Impulsivity
  Impaired development
 The National Institute of Health has begun to
sequence the microbial environment of the gut

  Postnatal development
  Integral part of human genetic landscape and evolution
  Production of essential vitamins and xenobiotic metabolism
  Provide and balance energy balances
  Microbes manipulate host genes resulting in alterations in
the deposition of energy into different sites
  Gut epithelial renewal rates
  The composition of the gut microbiome is affected by or
affects obesity
  40
– 85% of children with ASD suffer from
chronic digestive issues including:

•  Constipation
•  Diarrhea
•  Bloating
•  Pain
•  Mucous and undigested food

*Up to 95% of serotonin is located in the gut*

  Vaginal Birth – there is a reason we are born
face down in poop (transfer of MICROBIOME)

  Breastfeeding

  “Early weaning of piglets reduced the level

and performance of enzymes (including
alkaline phosphatase) in the gut, which leads
to decreased growth development and
illness”
~Dale Lackeyram, a PhD
University of Guelph
  Alkaline phosphatase has two major
implications:

1.  Making phosphorus available for bone growth and

development
2.  Alkaline phosphatase is part of the body’s natural
defence system

“This enzyme is capable of acting on the toxic

components of bacterial cells such as E. coli”
  Formula fed piglets have stunted villi
  Breastfed children have lower rates of
ASD, ADHD and learning disabilities

Why isn’t there more support for BF?

Why do we know more about piglets than
we do about our children?
  Yeast
  Clostridia
  Streptococcus
  Genes and Environmental Stressors
  Environmental Toxicity
  Methylation and Inflammation
  Inflammation in the brain
  Physical Issues
  Gut is the strongest leverage point
  Imbalanced microbiome and leaky gut
  Mitochondrial defects
  Detoxification impairment
  Immune dysfunction
•  Diet - individualized
•  B12 and folic acid (folic acid trap)
•  Copper-zinc imbalance
•  Vitamin C
•  B6 and Magnesium
•  Essential fatty acids (DHA and GLA) – omega 3 & 6
•  Calcium
•  Amino Acids metabolism dysfunction – TMG and DMG
•  Antioxidants
•  Probiotics
•  Enzymes
•  Melatonin