The Role of Oxidative Stress, Gastrointestinal Disturbances and Metabolic (mitochondrial) Problems with #Autism

I would like to introduce our Featured Guest, Becky Peabody Estepp, in an effort to provide a variety of information for our readers! Becky is the Director of Communications at the Elizabeth Birt Center for Autism Law and Advocacy. I hope you will give her a warm welcome and enjoy the post that she has shared with us.                                                                      Lorrie                                                                      

There's something about the 4th of July holiday that mainstream PR people love. That's when they bury science that they don't want the general public to think about too much. 

Below you will find an article from the Wall Street Journal that goes over the role of oxidative stress, gastrointestinal disturbances and metabolic (mitochondrial) problems with autism. Again, hallelujah that these conditions are being legitimately linked to autism. Lets hope this will lead to widespread treatment for kids with ASD.

But, on the other hand, I might need to go run 20 miles to use up the energy (and anger) I had when reading this. When my boys were both scoped 10 years ago we were about to get on the plane to NYC to go to Lennox Hill Hospital. At the last minute, our doctor called to tell us to not drive to the airport. Lennox Hill revoked his rights to practice there when they found out he was scoping kids with autism. It was too controversial and they wanted to stay out of the fray.

What about Dr. Wakefield who has been vilified by the medical community and traipsed around the world as a fraud? You know what his original case study was about, a novel form of GI disease in kids with autism. Isn't that in a sense what the last two articles have been about this month?

So again, we are back to the "Wag the Dog" analogy. The science is being managed and spoon fed to the public. Most people would miss this story because they are on the road with their loved ones for the biggest summer holiday. Just like in 2011, when the Stanford twins study came out that said, "Oh yeah, you know how we always said autism is genetic in almost all cases? Well, guess what? It is almost always environmental. Pass me a hot dog because it is the 4th of July. And watch some fireworks tonight."

But if the topic of this new study comes up down the road in some professional setting that kids with autism suffer with oxidative stress, GI disorders and mitochondrial dysfunction; the scientists can all say, "Oh yes, A VERY important study came out in July showing the biomarkers of these problems.....blah, blah, blah." And they can take credit for this ground-breaking science and package it exactly how they want it and deliver it to the public. Never mind that there have been several brave and amazing doctors who discovered and treated kids for these disorders for over a decade. And who were and are still trying to stop what this sentence says in the article.

"With one in three families affected by neurodevelopmental or cognitive disorders, this finding could have a far-reaching impact. As a pediatric gastroenterologist, I am encouraged to see research that seeks to unravel these co-occurring medical conditions that can seriously impact a patient's quality of life."

One in three families......just think about that. *Becky Peabody Estepp

*And there's always one word in each of these press releases that will differentiate the mainstream from us. The word in this article is "co-occurring" as in "co-occurring medical conditions."This scientist just heavily implied that the oxidative stress, the GI problems, and mito issues are just a coincidence that many individuals with autism are having, it's not the cause or has anything really to do with the cause.