'Clean Room' Pittsburgh Study Could Shed Light On Autism

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'Clean Room' Pittsburgh Study Could Shed Light On Autism

/Controversial Study Aims To Detoxify Kids, Reset Immune Systems/

POSTED: 2:11 pm EST March 10, 2010

UPDATED: 8:30 pm EST March 10, 2010

*PITTSBURGH -- *A controversial method is being used in Pittsburgh

to study children who live with autism. The method involves having

the children spend hours inside a so-called " clean room. " Nationwide,

there is one child in every 100 with autism.

In Allegheny County, there seems to be a cluster of cases as the

county has the highest rate of autism in the state.*Video:*Watch

's Report

<http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/video/22803538/index.html>Researchers

hope to determine whether the local environment is playing a role in

the problem.

Starting in a few weeks, children and their parents will stay in the

new room so researchers can see what happens to them.

AUTISM ROOM

<http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/print/22799178/detail.html#>

Mckenzie Guerrero

Malissa Guerrero's daughter, Mckenzie, is 7 and energetic and has

autism.

Guerrero said she tried many different things to help, but nothing

has worked. " I would try anything at least once to try to help her

because something has to break her -- something, " said Guerrero.She

hopes " something " is the new clean room.

A swoosh of air blows away dust and prevents bad air from coming

inside the room, which is free of toxins, pollution or

allergens. " It's the first of its kind ever for an autistic child, "

said Skip Kingston, an analytical chemistry professor.

Researchers want to know if this pure environment will impact

children with autism.The special ceiling tiles are all sealed, as

are the outlets and window.All the air runs through a HEPA air

filter, which cuts the particles in the air down from billions per

cubic meter to less than 100.The walls are plastic and painted with

a special tinted glue.

The bathroom keeps away all molds and bacteria and the water is

filtered.Some doctors disagree, but Dr. Faber of the

Children's Institute is convinced autism is caused by a combination

of genetics and the environment. " Sometimes situations are so

critical, things have gone so awry in the environment, there's such

a paradigm shift occurring, that we need to reach for new

possibilities new opportunities, " said Faber.

For some reason, many children with autism have poor immune systems

and can't get rid of toxin build up in their bodies, Faber said. He

wants to see if a pure environment will help reset the immune system

and help them detoxify.The study will begin next month. In the first

phase, children with autism and their parents will be sleeping in

the room for two weeks at a time to see if there are any changes in

their blood work.

" Starting with the sleeping room, and hopefully that does make some

difference, and then we can move on to a full, perhaps, month

experience where their friends and family can come in and out and

teachers, even therapists, can come in and out, but they would stay

for about a month or so, " Faber said.Kingston said the Pittsburgh

region is the perfect place for this study because he says our

environment is polluted. " Our air is unique in Pittsburgh, " Kingston

said.

" We have the mercury coming from the stacks of those. We can't eat

any of the fish. EPA has monitored all our fish, and we're not

allowed to eat any fish we fish in western Pennsylvania, because

they all have higher levels of mercury than are tolerable. " Guerrero

said she knows some people might think it's extreme, but she's

willing to give it a chance. " Anything to help her, " Malissa said. " I

think they all deserve it. They all deserve a chance.

" The study will cost $330,000 and has big backers that include Alcoa

and the federal government.Researchers will be monitoring the levels

of 70 different toxins in the participants bodies, and Kingston said

he hopes the study will allow them to come up with a list for

everyone on how to make their homes cleaner.

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