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A 100-Year-Old Drug Shows Extremely Promising Results for Treating Autism

  • May 30, 2017

A drug trial involving an old drug originally used to treat sleeping sickness is showing promise as a possible treatment for autism spectrum disorder (ASD), according to Science Alert. Children in the study showed improvements in just seven days — with two of them saying their first sentences in their lives about a week after a single infusion with the drug.

This is exciting news for many autism parents, I’m sure. With ASD affecting 1 in 50 American children — some say it’s even worse — we are literally desperate to find the answer to what’s causing it, and how we can stop it. Prevention is always the best “cure” of all. From that end, it’s now believed that avoidable environmental exposures are significant factors contributing to autism.

Among the many thoughts about treating autism after-the-fact, strategies that address the gut microbiome have shown some success, such as a gluten-free, casein-free diet. Gluten and casein have opioid-like activity, thanks to gluteomorphin and caseomorphin, and you really do not want to stimulate the opioid receptors in your child's brain. It’s the diet most celiac patients follow, but I think it's a good strategy for everyone, particularly for those with developmental delays or autism.

There is also room for a high-fat, low-carb diet for this, too. I believe for most diseases, certainly any neurodegenerative disease, and even brain traumatic injuries, providing optimized fuel for the brain is more easily accomplished by burning fat rather than glucose. My new book, “Fat for Fuel,” explains how anyone can learn to burn fat for fuel, and become healthier in the process.