"Genes load the gun, but environment pulls the trigger,"

So says Craig Newschaffer, chairman of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the Drexel University School of Public Health in the April 2007 article, Autism: It’s Not Just in the Head. Newschaffer is just one of many doctors and scientists who believe that there is much more to autism than just the symptoms that appear to be brain-based.

For some time now, since Bernard Rimland founded DAN! (Defeat Autism Now!) in 1995, biochemists, naturopaths and medical doctors in fields as diverse as neurology and immunology have been working together to figure out interventions and treatments that improve the lives of people with autism. Some claim the ability to “recover” the child from this devastating disorder, which now affects 1 out of 166 children (and another one in six children is diagnosed with some type of developmental delays.

At the heart of this approach are these three “beliefs” (which, by the way, are being proven out by a variety of research projects):

1. autism is not a rigidly determined disorder, but appears to have some common gene traits that are derailed by certain environmental triggers (i.e. vaccines, chemical exposures or food allergies).
2. affected genes appear to cause inflammation, not only in the brain, but also across the immune and digestive system as well.
3. inflammation is treatable.

It’s no small coincidence that many autistic children have chronic ear infections and diarrhea, or food intolerances. It’s no small coincidence that sleep disturbances and eczema also plague many autistic children.

The article goes on to discuss the current research on the gene variants believed to be linked to autism, as well as environmental factors that trigger it. Scientists are also looking at mitochondrial dysfunction – a dysfunction with energy at the cellular level…one that is caused by free radicals, and if their hypothesis is correct, can be improved with some basic (over-the-counter) nutrients to stabilize the mitochondria.

All this biomedical research is fascinating, although complex. Parents have a hard time grasping this, but many who are raising autistic children are trying the interventions nonetheless. Gluten and casein-free diets are a part of the basic biomed protocol, as are multiple vitamins and nutrients.

The article goes on to talk about Amy Yasko, a molecular biologist and naturopath who is causing quite a stir in the autism community. Yasko’s approach to detoxifying the body is based on the molecular biology she knows so well, but is not necessarily endorsed by doctors, even DAN! doctors. Amy has taken her message directly to parents, through bi-annual seminars and over the internet. Part of her approach is to teach parents about the complexities of the biochemistry. Yasko’s waiting list continues to grow.

Wanna learn more about biomed approaches to autism, and perhaps to adoption-related developmental delays? Check out the adoptbiomed yahoogroup.