Low immunity

[kerrybobs]

Hiya,

 

My daughter constantly picks up everything from colds- ear infections - chest infections, any virus that is going round. She really gets wiped out. She seems to always get it worse than anyone else.

 

She has had lots of time off school since September due to one virus or another. I was wondering if anyone else finds this with their As child or is it just me.

 

 

Any feedback would be appreciated.

 

Thanks

 

Kerry

[lil_me]

My son did until I started him on Haliborange supplement which inc fish oils and fresh juices to boost vitamins.

 

 

Problem I have with him is he won't tell me he's poorly or in pain usually I just have to guess but I think previously it was caused by his pathetic diet.

[Tylers-mum]

My son's the complete opposite. He seems to NEVER be ill and when he is, he doesn't show he's ill. Still the same hyper lil boy etc. Once had 3infections in one go and still was jumping round in hospital even with a 40+ temperature!!

[oracle]

Hubby just found this I found it very interesting. Matthew and David have always ended up with complications from every 'simple' childhood illness.

 

Child Autism

Immunologists from UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute find clear biological component to perplexing childhood neurological disorder

 

A new study by researchers at the University of California, Davis, M.I.N.D. Institute and the NIEHS Center for Children's Environmental Health demonstrate that children with autism have different immune system responses than children who do not have the disorder. This is important evidence that autism, currently defined primarily by distinct behaviors, may potentially be defined by distinct biologic changes as well.

 

The study was released at the 4th International Meeting for Autism Research (IMFAR), a meeting of autism scientists started by Cure Autism Now, the UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute and the National Alliance for Autism Research to accelerate knowledge of this increasingly common and perplexing disorder. It is estimated that autism now affects 1 in every 166 children.

 

"Understanding the biology of autism is crucial to developing better ways to diagnose and treat it," said Judy Van de Water, associate professor of rheumatology, allergy and clinical immunology at the UC Davis School of Medicine and the UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute. "While impaired communication and social skills are the hallmarks of the disorder, there has not yet been strong scientific evidence that the immune system is implicated as well. We now need to design carefully controlled studies that tell us even more about the way in which a dysfunctional immune system may or may not play a role in the disorder itself."

 

Van de Water, along with co-investigator of the study Paul Ashwood, assistant professor of medical microbiology and immunology at the UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute, isolated immune cells from blood samples taken from 30 children with autism and 26 typically developing children aged between two and five years of age. The cells from both groups were then exposed to bacterial and viral agents that usually provoke T-cells, B cells and macrophages: primary players in the immune system.

 

Of the agents tested in the study, tetanus toxoid, lippopolysaccharide derived from E. coli cell walls, a plant lectin known as PHA, and a preparation of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine antigens, the researchers found clear differences in cellular responses between patients and controls following exposure to the bacterial agents and PHA.

 

In response to bacteria, the researchers saw lower levels of protein molecules called cytokines in the group with autism. Cytokines function as mediators of the immune response, carrying messages between B, T and other immune cells. They also are known to be capable of having profound effects on the central nervous system, including sleep and the fever response. Immune system responses to PHA, in contrast, produced more varied cytokine levels: Higher levels of certain cytokines and lower levels of others.

 

According to Van de Water and Ashwood, these studies illustrate that under similar circumstances, the cytokine responses elicited by the T-cells, B-cells, and macrophage cell populations following their activation differs markedly in children with autism compared to age-matched children in the general population. Cytokines are known to affect mood and behavior, and while their specific role in the development of autism remains unclear, the potential connection is an intriguing area of research that warrants further investigation.

 

"This study is part of a larger effort to learn how changes in immune system response may make some children more susceptible to the harmful effects of environmental agents," said Kenneth Olden, director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, the federal agency that provided funding for the study. "A better understanding of the connection between altered immune response and autism may lead to significant advances in the early detection, prevention and treatment of this complex neurological disorder."

 

"We would like to take these findings and explore whether, for example, the cytokine differences are specific to certain subsets of patients with autism, such as those with early onset, or those who exhibit signs of autism later during development," Ashwood said. He added that the logical next step is to look directly at specific cell populations that may be responsible for the diverging responses between patients and controls.

 

Carole

 

__________________

[call me jaded]

Immune system abnormalities:

 

Cell-mediated immunity and antibody levels have been reported to be abnormal in some people with autism (Gupta 2000, Singh et al. 1991, Burger and Warren 1998, Jyonouchi et al. 2001). Autoimmune antibodies have also been described (Singh et al. 1988, Gupta 2000) and increased autoimmune disease has been documented in family members of autistic individuals (Comi et al. 1999). As a result, abnormalities of the immune system are the basis for additional hypotheses about the causes of autism. Genetically determined immune system abnormalities might theoretically help to explain an abnormal response to toxic chemicals or metals in autistic people as well. This, too, remains an area of conjecture and significant research interest.

 

http://www.protectingourhealth.org/newscie...mpeerreview.htm

 

If you follow the link you'll be able to click on each name for the research papers.

 

I personally think it's because the immune system is malfunctioning that so many of our children have bowel and gut problems. It also links in quite neatly with regressive autism and (dare I say it?) v a c c i n e s.

 

You can do something about it. You can boost immune responses by upping anti-oxidant containing foods, vitamin C, zinc and magnesium. And remove immune system triggers. Jyonouchi has found strong links with gluten and cow's milk (no surprise there, then).

[Jadensmum]

Hi Kerrybobs,

 

I used to think J had a weak immune system as he used to pick up a cold / chest infection / ear infection - get over it and then get another one

 

J is on medication for epilepsy and I thought it may have something to do with that but I posed the question on an epilepsy forum and was told no.

 

He had quite a good diet before but I tried to cut out gluten and dairy as much as I could and also varied his diet, ie loads of vegetables, fish etc.

 

He no longer gets one cold after another and when he does get one he seems to get over it quicker

 

Denisex

[Lucas]

There is rarely an even middle when it comes to immunity in Autistics. Some are chronically ill all the time whilst others have never even had a cold in their life.

 

Of course, the MIND institute and Cure Autism Now look at biological components from an extremely one-sided view; portraying the very ill Autistics as proof that Autism is a very bad thing with a curable biological component, whilst ignoring the plentiful uber-immune Autistics.

 

They also seem to be in a 'chicken or the egg' arguement where they have already assumed one made the other first. Those insisting there is a curable biological cause don't think for a minute that anything acting up is being caused with Autism playing a role, but instead say that this biological hiccup is causing Autism.

 

I believe that the immune system is being affected in the same way the gut is; it's the Autistic person themselves with the contributions from the enviroment causing the biological problems through stress. I've said before that Autism is where functioning is like riding a bicyle without knowing how to brake. I just think Autistics have a degree of self-control over their body functions that NTs don't, but Autistics are not informed of this information so panic when something happens and they don't know how it happened.

 

Imagine having extra limbs, how can a person with only four possibly teach you to control them?

[mel_jayne]

my son 9 yrs (still waiting for dx)is never ill,but i have read somewhere that they are linked.can't remember if it was Why does Chris do that or Bridging the gap.Sorry if it's not much help.

[Lindyloo]

My son is another one on the never ill side. If he does catch a cold he is completely uneffected by it. He will very occationaly get stomach ache or stomach upsets. WHen this does happen you know about it - he is so differant that there is never any doubt that he does not feel well.

 

Linda

[virtualvisual]

MY lads never seem to get ill and even if a cold does manage to catch up with them they don't slow down for a second. Alex has had a few operations for various things and he always heals so quick (he's often found trying to race the trolley back to the ward after he's just had a general anesthetic to check his eyes). The only problem he has is that he scars quite badly for the smallest thing. He still has a scar from his drip when he was born (he's 13 next month), he now looks like Harry Potter after crashing his bike into the burn and cutting his head open a few months ago and he's got a scar that covers about 4 square inches on his wrist from grazing it last year. I often wonder how much unscarred skin he'll have left as an adult

[treetree]

my daughter is the same hails anything and anything from being two monyhs old she has ecema ,asthma,constipation,heart murmur ,chest infections,meningitis,her legs hurt ,lathargic ect...the list goes on and on shes now five ive lost count of how many times we have been in hospital and she doesnt tell you shes ill or got a tempreture just goes into her own little world