NAC Saturday: Dr. Jeff Bradstreet: Common Problems & Effective Treatments

Dr. Jeff Bradstreet presented on treatments based and judged on lab results. Dr. Bradstreet told us that neurotypical is the goal for our children and that goal requires our persistance and the persistance of our doctors and other treaters. He reminded us that if you have no idea which medical problems your child has, biomedical treatment can be a guessing game. This is why doing labs is important -- you can define the problem, then choose appropriate interventions. This can save both time and money. You also can use those lab tests to help evaluate how effective an intervention may be for a child.

Brain inflammation is a common problem for our kids and can be challenging to treat. Children on the spectrum often have chronic autoimmune processes. Neopterin is a good biomarker for this. High neopterin = inflammation and, in the absence of infection, suggests autoimmunity issues.

He also suggested some non-invasive biomarkers for inflammatory bowel disease or similar conditions. In particular, he suggested calprotectin as the biomarker that shows the strongest correlations with bowel conditions. Genova Diagnostics can run this test.

Dr. Bradstreet noted that differences between individuals' microbiotia influence not only our health risks but may also help explain why individuals respond differently to interventions.

Dr. Bradstreet noted that recent research has shown that, in one study, 11.5% of mothers of children with autism have reactivity against fetal brain (but not adult) without similar numbers in the control groups. The cause is not known at this time but may potentially be viral. This reactivity may also play a role in families with multiple children on the spectrum, but this requires more research to determine the connection, if any.

Dr. Bradstreet also said that while we know that many of our children have oxidative stress issues, we should test ourselves too. Many parents have increased RNA oxidation which increases our risk for early onset Alzheimer's Disease and Parkinson's Disease. We also are at greater risk for autoimmune diseases.

Dr. Bradstreet reminded us to take care of ourselves as well as our children.