Scientist suggests viral link to autism

By Mary Ann Roser
Cox News Service
Published November 7, 2004

AUSTIN, Texas -- A maverick British scientist who now works in Austin has completed an autism study that links the disease to an intestinal illness. The research, published in the Journal of Clinical Immunology, opens the door to testing treatments for some autistic children, including a diet that forbids dairy products and certain grains. Dr. Andy Wakefield, whose earlier work caused a furor by suggesting an association between a common childhood vaccine and autism, said he considers the latest research groundbreaking.

The study by Wakefield and three collaborators builds on previous research connecting autism and the gut. But it goes several steps further: It identifies a new inflammatory intestinal disease in some children who appear normal but regress into autism; it suggests the intestinal disease is viral, thus giving clues about the nature of this type of autism; and it provides new targets for treating autism in some children.

"This now gives us the basis of what is driving that disease and what we can do to treat many children" who regress into autism, said Wakefield, who is setting up a research, education and treatment center for autistic children in Austin called the Thoughtful House. "We hope this will form the basis for a new clinical trial."

Nationally known autism expert Dr. Timothy Buie, a pediatrician specializing in gastrointestinal disorders at Massachusetts General Hospital for Children, called the research a welcome extension of Wakefield's earlier work into the relationship between autism and gastrointestinal symptoms, such as constipation and diarrhea.

Autism is a complex disorder that usually emerges during the first three years of life and affects the ability to communicate, reason and interact with others. Some type of autism is diagnosed in 1 in 166 individuals, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Though the new research expands the understanding of autism in a select group of children, "the jury is still out" on whether it extends to a larger group, said Buie, who also is on the Harvard Medical School faculty. "We're a long way from saying that these changes at the gut level are what is causing the autism."

Wakefield and his colleagues studied 86 children in England, including 21 with autism. They found that the autistic children had significantly more cells of a certain type in their digestive tracts associated with an intestinal inflammation causing them chronic problems.

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