Neuro-Immune Diagnosis and Treatment Gives Hope To Children With Autism, Attention Deficit Disorder and Other Diseases

Children Once Thought of as Having "Untreatable" Developmental or Behavioral Disorders In Reality Have a Medical Disease; New Protocol Has Already Helped Many Patients

TARZANA, Calif. (July 8, 2002) – Doctors and researchers on the cutting edge of medical research are now bringing hope to many of the 500,000 children in the United States diagnosed with autism and many of the more than 2.5 million with attention deficit disorder (ADD), attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS).

By treating these and other diseases as neuro-immune dysfunction syndromes (NIDS) and looking upon them as medical rather than developmental disorders, Michael Goldberg, M.D., F.A.A.P, and his colleagues at the Neuro-Immune Dysfunction Syndromes Research Institute (NIDS-RI) have seen dramatic improvement and normalization in children previously deemed medically untreatable. During more than 20 years of evaluation and research, Dr. Goldberg has reduced or eliminated symptoms in numerous children throughout the United States and helped return cognitive function to normal and near normal states in many.

The Epidemic

Autism is far more prevalent today than it was in the early 1980s when one in 10,000 children were afflicted with the disorder. Today, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) estimates that one in 250 children are diagnosed as autistic. Treating these children and others with similar disorders can cost more than $60,000 per child, per year, according to parents whose children have the disorder. The number of children with ADD and ADHD disorder also has increased dramatically in the past two decades, with estimates now topping two million, according to the NIH.

"Autism has migrated from a rare disorder to one that is now 10 to 20 times more likely to be diagnosed. It’s scientifically impossible for an epidemic to be caused by developmental, genetic or "brain damaged" conditions," said Dr. Goldberg. "Without a doubt, this is a disease process masquerading, or being misinterpreted, as a "developmental" disorder. We need to stop assuming that the symptoms are a result of birth or genetic defects or psychological problems and start looking at the immune connection."

Dr. Goldberg says that, not only are these disease states treatable, but also over time, children’s symptoms are reduced and they recover significant cognitive function. "Treating these children not only increases their quality of life, but decreases the current and future sociological and financial costs to our schools and communities," Goldberg said.

How it Works

According to Dr. Goldberg, NIDS patients are genetically predisposed to having a dysregulated immune system. The immune system malfunction can be triggered by a virus, intrauterine, prenatal or neonatal stress, combination of other stresses, illnesses or trauma and accounts for the cognitive processing and other deficits seen in many of these children. However, while there is likely to be a genetic pre-disposition in many of these children, this is not a genetic disorder as thought of in the past. Recent research supports the likelihood of an autoimmune connection in many of these families.

Diagnosis for NIDS is simple: an immune panel run through blood testing and a NeuroSPECT scan which measures blood flow to the brain. In many instances, testing reveals high titers for a number of herpes-like viruses, fungal or Candida overgrowth and multiple food sensitivities or allergies, which are usually secondary to a very activated immune system. A child’s blood work frequently shows lowered counts of natural killer (NK) cells, an imbalance in certain immune cell ratios, as well as low ferritin and elevated lymphocyte counts, with no apparent physical illness.

NeuroSPECT scans of children with NIDS show reduced blood flow to portions of the brain, including areas of the temporal lobes, which affect social skills, auditory processing and language. Other "autistic" symptoms correspond to areas of dysfunction seen in the frontal lobes and the cerebellar area.

Research & Treatment

By regulating and cooling down the immune system and the targeted use of FDA approved drugs, Dr. Goldberg and other specialists working with these children have seen dramatic improvements. Many children have returned to fully normal functioning, often near or at the top of their classes academically.

Extensive clinical work over the past five years supports the NIDS-RI hypothesis that many developmental disorders are actually immune-mediated diseases affecting the central nervous system.

"Research on other diseases such as Alzheimer’s and multiple sclerosis has proven that the immune system plays a very powerful role in cognitive function," said Jeffrey Galpin, M.D. a clinical associate professor of medicine at the University of Southern California and a renowned AIDS researcher. Drs. Goldberg and Galpin, along with the NIDS Scientific Advisory Board of leading medical researchers, professionals and specialists from the field of immunology, infectious diseases, nuclear medicine and pediatrics are calling for the trials of new immune modulator drugs to be applied to adults and children with these disorders in an accelerated, expedient manner.

"There is so much more that can be done to help these children," said Dr. Goldberg. "While the medications currently available help reduce symptoms, the most promising research for the future is in the area of immune modulator drugs. These drugs should be extremely effective in regulating immune system dysfunction when used on these children and adults with related disorders."

The Neuro-Immune Dysfunction Syndromes Research Institute has embarked on a fundraising campaign to implement these new therapies and make effective medical treatment available to all afflicted children. For more information on the campaign or NIDS, visit www.nids.net or www.neuroimmunedr.com