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Supplements and Asperger Syndrome (ASD)

asd supplements nac n-acetylcysteine

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#1 Now

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Posted 05 February 2012 - 10:50 AM


Hey everyone,

What do you think about the use of supplements etc. in Asperger syndrome, an autism spectrum disorder? I found some studies on PubMed that might be interesting.

Plasma antioxidant capacity is reduced in Asperger syndrome.
Recent evidence suggests that children with autism have impaired detoxification capacity and may suffer from chronic oxidative stress. To our knowledge, there has been no study focusing on oxidative metabolism specifically in Asperger syndrome (a milder form of autism) or comparing this metabolism with other psychiatric disorders. In this study, total antioxidant status (TAOS), non-enzymatic (glutathione and homocysteine) and enzymatic (catalase, superoxide dismutase, and glutathione peroxidase) antioxidants, and lipid peroxidation were measured in plasma or erythrocyte lysates in a group of adolescent patients with Asperger syndrome, a group of adolescents with a first episode of psychosis, and a group of healthy controls at baseline and at 8-12 weeks. TAOS was also analyzed at 1 year. TAOS was reduced in Asperger individuals compared with healthy controls and psychosis patients, after covarying by age and antipsychotic treatment. This reduced antioxidant capacity did not depend on any of the individual antioxidant variables measured. Psychosis patients had increased homocysteine levels in plasma and decreased copper and ceruloplasmin at baseline. In conclusion, Asperger patients seem to have chronic low detoxifying capacity. No impaired detoxifying capacity was found in the first-episode psychosis group in the first year of illness.

Effect of a vitamin/mineral supplement on children and adults with autism.
CONCLUSIONS: Oral vitamin/mineral supplementation is beneficial in improving the nutritional and metabolic status of children with autism, including improvements in methylation, glutathione, oxidative stress, sulfation, ATP, NADH, and NADPH. The supplement group had significantly greater improvements than did the placebo group on the PGI-R Average Change. This suggests that a vitamin/mineral supplement is a reasonable adjunct therapy to consider for most children and adults with autism.

Nutritional and metabolic status of children with autism vs. neurotypical children, and the association with autism severity.
The autism group had many statistically significant differences in their nutritional and metabolic status, including biomarkers indicative of vitamin insufficiency, increased oxidative stress, reduced capacity for energy transport, sulfation and detoxification. Several of the biomarker groups were significantly associated with variations in the severity of autism. These nutritional and metabolic differences are generally in agreement with other published results and are likely amenable to nutritional supplementation. Research investigating treatment and its relationship to the co-morbidities and etiology of autism is warranted.



May N-acetylcysteine be beneficial in autism?

Sulfur and sulfur-related amino acids are commonly depleted in autism. Glutathione, which largely depends on cysteine for its formation, is also frequently depleted in autism, and may contribute to the heavy metal burden commonly found in autistic patients.
http://en.wikipedia..../Acetylcysteine


I found some promising studies for other psychiatric disorders.

N-acetylcysteine in psychiatry: current therapeutic evidence and potential mechanisms of action
There is an expanding field of research investigating the benefits of alternatives to current pharmacological therapies in psychiatry. N-acetylcysteine (NAC) is emerging as a useful agent in the treatment of psychiatric disorders. Like many therapies, the clinical origins of NAC are far removed from its current use in psychiatry. Whereas the mechanisms of NAC are only beginning to be understood, it is likely that NAC is exerting benefits beyond being a precursor to the antioxidant, glutathione, modulating glutamatergic, neurotropic and inflammatory pathways. This review outlines the current literature regarding the use of NAC in disorders including addiction, compulsive and grooming disorders, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. N-acetylcysteine has shown promising results in populations with these disorders, including those in whom treatment efficacy has previously been limited. The therapeutic potential of this acetylated amino acid is beginning to emerge in the field of psychiatric research.



What do you think? More information/studies and other suggestions/theories are more than welcome!



Thanks a lot!

#2 niner

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Posted 09 February 2012 - 02:12 PM

The physiological disruptions in autism spectrum disorders need a lot more attention. The following is a pretty good thread:

A thread about a treatment stack for Aspergers/ASD

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#3 Now

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Posted 10 February 2012 - 10:12 AM

Thanks Niner!

Caruga's regime seems a little too much and risky, but maybe I will add NAC (in a lower dosage and without his amount of water) later to my regime. There is some promising evidence for N-Acetylcysteine in treating irritability and disruptive behaviors in children with autism.[1]

Unfortunately I can't find l-methylfolate at a reasonable price-quality, but this will be my plan for the for the next month:

11/02 - 11/03:
Multivitamin with i.a. 20 μg methylcobalamin, 800 μg folic acid (pteroylmonoglutamic acid) and 25 B6 (Pyridoxal 5'-phosphate ).
Magnesium (citrate, ascorbate) 187,5 mg with Vitamin C (magnesiumascorbate) 250 mg and 5 μg vitamin D3
Fish oil with 330mg EPA and 220mg DHA.

Everyday MBSR (Mindfulness) exercises and a cold shower.
Minimal 2 - 3 times per week psychical exercise: running, bodyweight exercises.

After this month I will evaluate and add if necessary:
NAC 500 - 100mg daily or
Rhodiola or Bacopa or Inositol.

But I have to read some more about the mechanism and effectiveness of Bacopa and Inositol.

Thanks again niner!

Edited by Now, 10 February 2012 - 10:21 AM.


#4 Now

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Posted 14 February 2012 - 10:52 AM

Regime change:

I'm going to stop taking the multi every day, because of the following reasons:

1. Cron-o-meter did not show any heavy deficiencies.
2. I'm a bit worried about the antioxidants (see quote) in the multivitamin in combination with physical exercise.[1]

Antioxidants in multi:
200 mg vitamin C
- 25 mg Ascorbyl palmitate
- 175 mg Ascorbic acid
+ 250 mg from magnesium-formula.
Vitamin E 30,8mg
- Mixed tocopherols 30% 20 mg
- D-alpha-tocopheryl succinate 37,2 mg
125 μg selenium

It also contains components such as: grape seed extract 95% 25mg, alpha lipoic acid 15 mg, quercetin 25 mg and some more small-dosed extracts.


What is your opinion about antioxidants and exercise? I'm considering to take the multivitamin one or two times a week (or a half 3-4 times a week) to prevent deficiencies and replenish the storage (in the human body) of some micronutrients. Does this sound like a reasonable/rational idea?

[1] http://en.wikipedia....ysical_exercise

Edited by Now, 14 February 2012 - 10:53 AM.


#5 Lufega

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Posted 14 February 2012 - 05:04 PM

I was curious to see if Uridine would work. It turns out that, at least in autism, they already have very high levels of it because of improper methylation. That's as much as I know about that. Maybe some TMG ?

#6 Now

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Posted 16 February 2012 - 01:34 PM

I was curious to see if Uridine would work. It turns out that, at least in autism, they already have very high levels of it because of improper methylation. That's as much as I know about that. Maybe some TMG ?


Thanks for the suggestion. I'll have a look at it, but it seems that there isn't much info/research available about Uridine/TMG.

Does anyone know something more about the combination of antioxidants (especially vitamin C) and exercise? I somewhat regret the fact that the magnesium-formula contains 250 mg vitamin C, because I don't want to take it when I've done some physical exercise. Or is that unnecessary and is the impact of 250 - 400mg vitamine C not that great?

#7 MrHappy

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Posted 28 February 2012 - 02:11 AM

Now - there's 30-odd pages of active uridine research and discussion here:
http://www.longecity...ne-uridine-dha/

I'd also be keen to see how it goes with Asperger's, given the apparent ability to repair childhood developmental deficiencies. I'd like to see what improvements, if any, that protocol, although substituting folic acid with l-methylfolate.. as well as increasing cholesterol levels (precursor to oxytocin) may have. :)



#8 Now

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Posted 15 March 2012 - 12:54 PM

Thanks MrHappy,

I still have to read that topic, but it is too much for now.
Increasing cholesterol is interesting, because my cholesterol was pretty low (3.0 mmol/l) one year ago. I also read something about the connection between low cholesterol and depression/anxiety. Maybe I have to check my cholesterol levels again.

Edited by Now, 15 March 2012 - 12:58 PM.


#9 niner

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Posted 16 March 2012 - 03:34 AM

Now - there's 30-odd pages of active uridine research and discussion here:
http://www.longecity...ne-uridine-dha/

I'd also be keen to see how it goes with Asperger's, given the apparent ability to repair childhood developmental deficiencies. I'd like to see what improvements, if any, that protocol, although substituting folic acid with l-methylfolate.. as well as increasing cholesterol levels (precursor to oxytocin) may have. :)


I just ran across a great paper looking at a number of nutritional and biochemical parameters in people on the autism spectrum, and surprisingly, the patients with autism had a much higher level of uridine than the controls. This is apparently due to methylation problems. Thus, without correcting methylation, uridine would probably be a bad idea for Asperger's. It's in this thread, which contains a lot of relevant info.

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#10 MrHappy

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Posted 17 March 2012 - 12:31 AM

I agree!
The methylation aspect should be addressed by the B vitamins in the stack. You could also look at SAMe, etc.





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