AUTISM ACCORDING TO SCIA

TABLE OF CONTENTS

  • AUTISM ACCORDING TO SCIA
  • PROBLEMS CAUSED BY MICROGLIAL ACTVATION
  • HOW THE HUMAN BRAIN WORKS
  • SYNAPSIS DESTRUCTION CAUSED BY MICROGLIAL ACTVATION
  • TEMPORAL AND FRONTAL LOBE DYSFUNCTION IN AUTISM
  • AUTISM COMMON MEDICAL SYMPTOMS
  • FACTORS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO MICROGLIAL ACTIVATION
  • HOW CAN MICROGLIAL ACTIVATION BE TREATED IN AUTISM?
Microglia & Autism

The brain's immune system cell behind autism.




Nobel winner ties mental illness to immune defect (microglial activation)
Video courtesy of ksl.com

The Nobel Prize-winning University of Utah geneticist Dr. Mario Capecchi published a study that provides the first cause-and-effect link between immune system cells, specifically cells named microglia and mental illnesses, and points toward eventual new psychiatric treatments targeting the immune system.

Dr. Capecchi's Nobel Prize Award Ceremony

Video courtesy of The University of Utah
Dr. Mario Capecchi is awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his discoveries in gene targeting.

Logo courtesy of Johns Hopkins Medicine
Compared with normal control brains, the brains of people with autism showed evidence of an ongoing inflammatory process in different regions of the brain and produced by cells known as microglia and astroglia, says Dr. Carlos Pardo

Microglia Cell

"New research suggests that a lot of what is going on in that synaptic gap is engineered by the microglia. Microglia touch and wrap around synaptic regions constantly, perhaps determining which connections will survive and which will disappear.", said Ania Majewska, Ph.D.,

How the human brain works

Video courtesy of The Discovery Channel

The Secret Life of Microglia

How the microglia can destroy the synapses

Video courtesy of The University of Rochester Medical Center
Microglia play a central role in one of the most basic, central phenomena in the brain, the creation and elimination of synapses.

Inflammation, The Immune System and Alzheimer's (microglial activation)

Video courtesy of The Health Science Channel By Dr. Joseph Rogers - Banner Sun Health Research Institute
Video that shows how microglial activation can destroy the synapses decreasing function in the affected brain areas.

Brain SPECT scan of a child with autism

Image of brain SPECT scan showing decrease temporal and frontal lobe decreased function caused by microglial activation.

Image courtesy of Center for NeurosSkills

Autism Common Medical Symptoms

All these medical problems can only occur if the immune system is not working correctly.

Role of Microglia in Central Nervous System Infections

Logo courtesy of the University of Minnesota
Microglia can be activated by neurotropic viruses, bacteria, fungi, parasites, and prions, which are reviewed in this article.

What is a chronic infection?

Chronic infections can usually last for days, months or a lifetime and sometimes people are unaware they are infected.

What is a neurotropic infectious agent?

They are infectious agents that have a predilection to infect the central nervous system.

Picture courtesy of e! Science News
Nobel Prize Winner Dr. Mario Capecchi treated mental illness as he would many other illnesses, by treating the immune system. By curing the immune system, the mental illness can be cured permanently.

AUTISM ACCORDING TO SCIA

  • SCIA believes that children with autism suffer from an ongoing inflammatory process in different regions of the brain produced by the chronic activation of the brain's immune system (microglial activation).
  • Furthermore, we believe that many of the medical symptoms that accompany autism may be explained by microglial activation.
  • In 2010, The Nobel Prize Winner geneticist Dr. Mario Capecchi published a study in which he found a cause-and-effect link between the immune system, specifically the microglial cells and mental illness.
  • In a study published by Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, it was found that the brains of people with autism showed evidence of an ongoing inflammatory process in different regions of the brain and produced by microglial activation.
  • Microglia are immune system cells that originate in bone marrow and migrate from blood to the brain acting as the first and main form of active immune defense in the central nervous system.
  • Microglia defend the brain and spinal cord, constantly excavating the CNS and attacking and engulfing infectious agents.
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PROBLEMS CAUSED BY MICROGLIAL ACTVATION

  • Activated microglia release inflammatory substances
  • Release excessive amounts of nitric oxide
    • Elevated levels of nitric oxide can be neurotoxic
    • The production of nitric oxide following microglial activation causes a decline in cellular GSH levels leading to brain oxidative damage
    • Reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (ROS and RNS) derived from nitric oxide and superoxide may also inhibit mitochondrial brain energy metabolism
    • Abundant nitric oxide at an inflammatory site may reduce and impair natural killer (NK) cell function
  • Reduced levels of glutathione results in accumulation of heavy metals and can weaken the immune system
  • Reduced natural killer cell function can weaken the immune system and cause allergies
  • Microglial activation can result in seizures and sleep disorders
Glutathione

Glutathione is the most important antioxidant in the body. Our immune system depends on a steady supply of glutathione. Without it, our immune system is weakened.

Mitochondria

Mitochondria are the energy sources of cells. Mitochondria are responsible for the final steps to convert our food into energy.

Natural Killer Cells

The natural killer (NK) cells are an important first line of defense against malignant cells and cells infected by viruses, bacteria and protozoa.

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HOW THE HUMAN BRAIN WORKS

To understand how microglial activation affects the brain of autistic children we must understand how the brain works.

  • The brain works by forming networks of neurons that communicate through synapses.
  • The neurons use the synapses to communicate electrical and chemical signals.
  • Damage to the synapses lead to many neurological disorders like Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, Parkinson's and autism to name a few.
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SYNAPSIS DESTRUCTION CAUSED BY MICROGLIAL ACTVATION

When microglial cells are chronically activated they contact more synapses and appear to be poised to destroy them.

Synapse

In the nervous system, the synapse is a connection that allows a neuron to pass an electrical or chemical signal to other neurons.

Image courtesy of the Alzheimer's Association
Image courtesy of the Alzheimer's Association

Microglial Activation is a key factor not only in autism, but in several other neurodegenerative diseases like the following:

  • Alzheimer's Disease
  • Parkinson's Disease
  • Multiple Sclerosis
  • Schrizophenia

Microglia can be activated by multiple factors like the following:

  • Beta-Amyloid (Alzheimer's Disease)
  • Bacterial or Viral Products
  • Inflammatory substances (Cytokines)
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TEMPORAL AND FRONTAL LOBE DYSFUNCTION IN AUTISM

Children with autism suffer from dysfunction in different areas of the brain caused by the destruction of the synapses due to microglial activation.

Temporal Lobes Dysfunction Symptoms

  • Disturbance of auditory sensation and perception
  • Disturbance of selective attention of auditory and visual input
  • Disorders of visual perception
  • Impaired organization and categorization of verbal material
  • Disturbance of language comprehension
  • Impaired long-term memory
  • Altered personality and affective behavior

Frontal Lobe Dysfunction Symptoms

  • Loss of fine movements and strength of the arms, hands and fingers
  • Little spontaneous facial expression
  • Difficulty in speaking
  • It has a negative impact on divergent thinking, or flexibility and problem solving ability
  • Attention disorders
  • Dramatic changes in social behaviors
  • Difficulty in interpreting feedback from the environment
  • Non-compliance with rules
  • Careless or excesive risk taking

Most of the autism symptoms can be clearly explained by dysfunction in the frontal and temporal lobes and other parts of the brain.

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AUTISM COMMON MEDICAL SYMPTOMS

  • Allergies
  • Eczema (Atopic Dermatitis)
  • Metabolic Disorders
  • Neuroinflammation (Microglial Activation)
  • Decreased Natural Killer Cell Activity
  • Low Glutathione Levels
  • Oxidative Stress and Metal Toxicity
  • Recurrent Infections
  • Human Herpes Type 6 Viral Reactivation

Children with autism suffer by many medical problems that are caused by disorders of the immune system especially caused by microglial activation.

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FACTORS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO MICROGLIAL ACTIVATION

Children with autism suffer from many chronic neurotropic infections that are associated with microglial activation.

Examples of neurotropic infectious agents commonly found in children with autism:

  • - Viruses
    • Herpes simplex virus
    • Human Herpes Type 6
    • Epstein-Barr
    • Coxsackie
    • Measles
    • Rubella
    • Mumps
  • - Bacteria
    • Lyme Disease
  • - Fungi
  • - Parasites
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HOW CAN MICROGLIAL ACTIVATION BE TREATED IN AUTISM?

Autism should be treated similarly to how the Nobel Prize-winning geneticist Dr. Mario Capecchi did. By treating the immune system.

  • - Children with autism should be treated with medications that can keep viruses, bacteria, fungi and parasites under control.
  • - Also, they should be treated with medications that can interact and inhibit microglial activation.

The Nobel Prize-winning geneticist Dr. Mario Capecchi says that instead of treating mental illness the traditional way that doctors do, with drugs to alter brain chemistry, he tried a new approach, by treating the immune system.

According to scientists, microglial activation can destroy the synapses. If the immune system is treated successfully, the synapses can be completely regenerated and the mental illness can be cured. Which means that autism can be cured.

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AUTISM DISEASE PROCESS

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Autism Disease Process

MEDICAL TREATMENT

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The SCIA treatment protocol is a new way of treating autism by inhibiting microglial activation.

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PUBLICATION

May 2010 Study published by a Nobel Prize Winning geneticist ties mental illness to immune system dysfunction...

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November 2004 Study published by Johns Hopkins Medicine provides evidence that the brain's immune system is triggered in autism...

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