Autism and Yeast

by Dr. Crook - International Health Foundation Inc.

During the first two decades of my busy pediatric practice, I saw no children with autism or other related developmental disorders.  Reports I read in medical journals at the time said, in effect, "Parents are the cause."

Thus, about 30 years ago, Bernard Rimland, PhD., the father of an autistic son, published a book on autism.  The purpose of this book was to show that this devastating disorder is not caused by the failure of the parents to provide the infant and young child with loving care.  Instead, Rimland pointed out that autism develops because of biological disturbances that affect the child's nervous system.

In the 1970s, Rimland established the Autism Research Institute (formerly the Institute for Child Behavior Research) 4182 Adams Ave., Sand Diego, CA  92116.  Through this institute, he has provided information about the biological causes of autism to professionals, parents and other nonprofessionals all over the world.  HE also publishes a newsletter and collects and disseminates information packets and books.

In the early 1980s, I saw a five-year-old boy who had been troubled with recurrent ear infections and hyperactivity during the first two years of life.  Yet, his developmental milestones were normal until the age of two and a half, when specialists at a university center made a diagnosis of "pervasive developmental disorder with symptoms of autism."

On a comprehensive treatment program that included nystatin, a special diet and the avoidance of chemical pollutants, the child improved significantly - even dramatically - although he continued to experience developmental problems.

During the 1980s Rimland told me he had received numerous reports from parents whose autistic children improved following anticandida therapy.  And in the late 1980s, I saw several more children in my practice with autistic-like symptoms who improved on a sugar-free, special diet and nystatin.

All through the 1990s, I received many, many calls and letters from parents of autistic children.  Almost without exception, autistic symptoms in these children first appeared during the second and third years of life following repeated ear and other infections.  A number of reports of yeast-related autism were presented at national conferences on autism in the early and mid 90s and at the DAN (Defeat Autism Now!) Conferences in Dallas, Chicago, San Diego and Cherry Hill, New Jersey (1995-1999)

Autism, like many other chronic and often devastating disorders, develops from many different causes.  Yet, there's now clear evidence that in many children, it is yeast-connected.

More Support for the Relationship of Yeasts to Autism

The October 1994 issue of Autism Research Review International, published by the Autism Research Institute, included a two-page review, "Parent Ratings of the Effectiveness of Drugs and Nutrients."  Here are excerpts from this report.

"The parents of autistic children represent a vastly important reservoir of information on the benefits and adverse effects .....of the large variety of drugs and other interventions that have been tried with their children ....  the data presented in this paper have been collected from the more than 8,700 parents who have filled out questionnaires designed to collect such information."

"The 31 drugs listed first were prescribed by the child's physician in each case.  Note that Ritalin, the drug most often prescribed, is near the bottom of the list.  Only 26 percent of the parents reported improvement, while 46 percent said the child got worse on Ritalin."

I studied the graphic charts in the report and I noted that nystatin (or Nizoral) ranked higher than any other prescription drug.  Of the 208 children who were given one of these mediations, 49 percent found that the child was "better" on the medication and only four percent said the child was "worse".  The better/worse ratio was more than 12:1

By contrast, none of the other drugs showed a better/worse ratio of more than 2.7:1 and many prescription medications, including Ritalin, which was given to 1661 children, showed a better/worse ratio of 0.4:1 (this means that twice as many children were made worse by Ritalin than were helped).

Since Dr. Rimland published his October 1994 questionnaire review, there have been many new developments.  Here's a brief summary of some of them:

• In January 1995, the first Defeat Autism Now! (DAN) conference was held in Dallas, Texas.  The thirty participants included practicing physicians, parents and researchers from major medical centers, some of whom were parents or grandparents of autistic children.

• Several speakers described the favorable response of autistic children to treatment programs featuring dietary changes, nutritional supplements (especially Vitamin B6 and magnesium) and anti-yeast medications.

• One participant, William Shaw PhD. presented clinical and laboratory studies which showed that autism is often yeast related.  His studies were carried out with the collaboration of Enrique Chaves, MD and Michael Luxem PhD.  These researchers found elevated fungal metabolites and other abnormal organic acids in the urine, especially in children who had taken repeated courses of antibiotic drugs.  Following treatment with anti-fungal medications, nystatin or Diflucan and dietary changes, all the autistic children had improvement.

• A 48-page consensus report of the DAN! conference, Biomedical Assessment Options for Children with Autism and Related Problems by Sidney M Baker, MD and Jon Pangborn, PhD. was published in January 1996. (This report, which was updated in April 1997, discusses many nutritional and biochemical abnormalities other than yeast which play important roles in autism and will be updated periodically.  A copy may be obtained by sending a tax-deductible contribution of $25 (or more) made to the Autism Research Institute Research Fund, 4182 Adams Ave, San Diego  CA  92116)

• A DAN! training conference for clinical practitioners was held in Chicago in June 1996 and a third DAN! conference was held in San Diego in September 1997.  Fourth and fifth DAN! conferences were held in 1999.  These conferences have had a significant - and long overdue - impact on the treatment of autistic children.  Attendees have included parents and professionals from throughout the United States and Canada and from Australia, England, Norway, Saudi Arabia and other countries.

• In January 1998, William Shaw published a 300-page book, Biological Treatment for Autism and PDD - a comprehensive and easy to read guide to the most current research and medical therapies for autism and PDD.  Included in this book are contributions from Bernard Rimland, PhD. (Vitamin Therapy); Bruce Semon, MD PhD. (In 1999 Semon and his wife, the parents of an autistic child, published a cookbook, Feast Without Yeast, which tells other parents of their experiences and provides them with information about dietary therapy.  This book can be ordered by calling 1-877-332-7899 (US and Canada); Lisa Lewis, PhD (Gluten and Casein-Free Diet); Karyn Seroussi and Pamela Scott (Managed Recovery of Autism). Shaw's book can be ordered for $19.95 plus $4 s/h by calling 913-341-8949 from 8:00 - 5:30 Central Time.

• In a number of phone visits, Shaw told me that he had found elevated fungal metabolites in people with a number of other conditions including ADHD.  He also pointed out that repeated antibiotics cause an increase in certain anaerobic bacteria including Clostridium difficile

In addition to antifungal medications, other therapeutic agents may be needed to reduce the high concentration of abnormal metabolites.  Among these agents are probiotics including Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium bifidum.

In the spring of 1999, I discussed a diagnosis of children with autism or ADD and adults with chronic fatigue, depression and other chronic complaints with Sidney M. Baker MD.  He pointed out (just as has another consultant, George F. Kroker,MD) that laboratory tests may help in the diagnosis of a yeast-related disorder.  Yet, he said that the urine tests, blood tests and stool tests may all be normal in may individuals with yeast problems.  And he said that the patient's history and response to a therapeutic trial of diet and antifungal agents (such as nystatin and Diflucan), is the best way to establish the diagnosis.

Why Autism May Be Yeast Connected

There appear to be several mechanisms.  One of these appears to be the direct effect of candida toxins on the brain.  In a report describing his studies on concdida toxins in mice, Iwata, a Japanese mycologist, commented:

"Canditoxins produced unique clinical symptoms.  Immediately after ..... intravenous injection (of toxin) animals exhibited ruffled fur and unsettled behavior.  Toxicity was so acute and severe that the majority of treated animals succumbed ... within 48 hours.  Within 10 minutes after being given a dose of toxin, the animsl became unsettled and irraitable; had congestion of the cunjunctiva, ears and ohter parts of the body and finally developed paralysis of the extremities."

In a paper published in another journal describing his research studies on mice, Iwata commented:

"When infected into uninfected mice, Canditoxin exerted toxic manifestations in spleen lymphoid cells... This indicates the possibility that .... the toxin produced in the invaded tissues may act as an immuniosuppressant to impair host defense mechanisms involving cellular immunity."

A second way Candida may be related to autism is through the disturbance of the normal balance of microorganisms in the intestinal tract.  When this occurs, the protective membrane lining the intestines is weakened.  As a results, food allergens are absorbed and this may cause adverse reactions in the nervous system.

My Comments

The research studies of Iwata, the clinical data collected by Rimland, and the new research studies by Shaw and colleagues do not prove that the manifestation of all autistic children are yeast-related and/or that antifungal medications provide a "quick fix". Yet, based on reports I've received from both parents and professionals, I feel that all autistic chidlren should be given prescription antifungal medication and a sugar-free diet as an integral part of their management program - especially those children ..

• whose development status was normal during the first 6 - 18 months of life
• who were treated with broad-spectrum antibiotics for ear or other infections
• whose autistic symptoms developed during the second or third year of life.

Rimland's, data (including a scientific report in a major psychiatric journal) also shows that nutritional supplements of vitamin B6 provide significant help to many autistic children.

Other researchers have found that gluten (from wheat, oats and other foods) and casein (from dairy products) play a significant role in causing autism in many children.

Breaking the Vicious cycle of Ear Infections and Preventing the Development of Hyperactivity, Attention Deficits and Autism