Polly: Mary Megson, MD, has had some amazing successes treating autism with cod liver oil (for its vitamin A content) and occasionally a drug to stimulate the release of acetylcholine. After administering the fish liver oil for two months, Dr. Megson will sometimes add one dose of the drug Urocholine to increase acetylcholine. Within 30 minutes of this dose, some of the kids appear to reconnect and to be able to focus. Yet, the children are still sickly.
She came to use the cod liver oil and the Urocholine after noticing that many of the autistic children have a family history that indicates a possible G I alpha protein defect. She hypothesized that in these cases, autism may be caused by further interference with these G proteins. One possibility is that additional interference with the G proteins could have been caused by administering vaccines when there was a deficiency of vitamin A. The cod liver oil she uses replaces the vitamin A. The drug to increase acetylcholine was tried because G protein defects could also knock out acetylcholine production.
Vitamin A is extremely important for the maintenance of healthy intestinal flora. Generally, the autistic children are deficient in not just vitamin A, but all of the fat-soluble vitamins¾A, D, E, and K. In fact, some of secretin’s benefit might be due to its stimulation of bile, which is needed for the assimilation of the fat-soluble vitamins. However, not just any vitamin A will do. Dr. Megson feels that the retinol form of vitamin A is absorbed best. This form of vitamin A is found in butter, fish, and liver. (It is not found in most vitamin supplements or infant formulas.) Of these sources of retinol vitamin A, Dr. Megson chose fish liver oil. She did this for a very specific reason. Fish oil is the only source of 14 hydroxy-retro-retinol (14-HRR). G protein defects could block the conversion of vitamin A into this 14-HRR. So she starts her patients on small amounts of cod liver oil¾similar to the recommended daily allowance for vitamin A. (Fish liver oil is rich in vitamins A, D, and K, and it has a reasonable amount of vitamin E. Still, giving extra vitamin E with fish oil to prevent oxidation is recommended in many books.)
Urocholine is a prescription drug that stimulates the release of acetylcholine at nerve endings, and acts like an artificial acetylcholine. (Bethanechol is the generic name for Urocholine.) It stimulates gastric motility, increases gastric tone and often restores impaired rhythmic peristalsis of the intestines. It also increases bile and pancreatic secretions and indirectly stimulates the vitamin A receptors in the brain’s hippocampus.
For more information on Dr. Megson’s work, go to these websites, http://bhare.org/newtx.html and http://www.megson.com.
Salt
Polly: Dr. Mary Megson suggests letting autistics have salt. If there is a G protein defect, three of the channels that remove calcium from the cells are blocked. The only other major means of removing calcium is with salt. If there isn’t enough salt in the diet, there is the danger that an autistic will calcify his or her brain cells.
I am both amazed and very happy to read about the possible causes of autism in children.
Our son received his immunization shot at age 18 months; before that time he was developing normally, after the needle he became autistic, it took less than 24 hours for this to happen: our conclusion – there was definitely something in the vaccination that caused our son’s autism.
We have purposed ourselves to search and to research autism, its causes and as well the possible natural, supplemental ways that will potentially help our precious son.
We do not approve of pharmaceuticals because we believe that certainly a level of wellness, well being and fulfilment both physically and emotionally can be achieved with the careful administration of vitamin supplements, omega oils, fatty acids etc and a healthy diet devoid of processed non foods and refined sugars.
Thank you for this valuable information,
Now I know why my husband and myself have been talking about cod liver oil just prior to our finding and reading these articles.
This learning and understanding of ours is an on going process as much as it is a labour of love.
I value Dr. Megson’s findings and I think she is a giant upon whose shoulders we should stand on. My daughter was diagnosed with PDD-NOS as an infant and although she is considered to have “grown out of it”, she struggles with severe anxiety and OCD. We struggled for years. It hasn’t been since I aged that I understand what happened in my family. First, my father had gout, and I’ve been watching to see how that plays out in the generations. Thyroid disorders are very coming with myself and my siblings. Secondly, at age 65 I discovered that the problem with my thyroid is that sensitivity due to the thiocyanates found in the kale/cole crops. Thirdly, at age 67, I was diagnosed with pancreatitis. Coffee really made me sick, so on a whim, I asked the google if coffee was high in sulfur. It was. So I doubled down on a low thiol diet — and my enzyme levels dropped. My pancreatic enzymes started to recede. This could suggest that both the thyroid and the pancreas are sensitive to the wrong form of sulfur. And since I spent a lot of hours trying to figure this out, it might relate to Dr. Rosemary Waring’s observations that autistic children have low sulfation, it might explain why casein is a problem, as dairy is high in sulfur. And for me, who used to stare at the Purine Autism website hoping that the answers might magically appear; they did. There was one picture on the website….a child in a bright red striped outfit; and underneath the line declaring that although the problems presented in infancy, the children typically “outgrew” them….which is still the biggest load of cow manure that I have encountered. Children don’t outgrow serious conditions.If they did, it would be nothing short of miraculous! More likely, it is hormonal masking. If you have any doubts look at the grandparents and see the health problems they are dealing with. Those health problems didn’t just come out of nowhere…they were unmasked as the sex hormones faded away. And again, since I have a thyroid condition and a pancreatic condition, it could be the whole damn endocrine system that is under attack! If you ever read Dr. Georgia Ede’s “Diagnosis Diet” website, she goes on about the health of the thyroid – even so far as to cause me to wonder about how healthy my thyroid was during pregnancy while I was eating foods that I learned much later were rich in thiols and silently harming my thyroid. How did that affect my daughter’s development? Leaving my email: bankstreet (at) roadrunner.com — Rebecca M., who, like the aunt of Dr. Megson’s patient has night blindness which was a factor into why Dr. M considered a defect in vitamin; A metabolism as reason to start the cold liver oil protocol.