Could Folic Acid Inadvertently Cause Autism? and Testosterone

April 20, 2004

On Folic acid:

very little evidence of excess of folic acid being associated with

autism. The timing of folic acid supplementation in food such as

cereal, which occurred around 1998, does not coincide with the dramatic

upward trend in the incidence of autism, that began in the early

1990's. This theory has been suggested by Beaudet of Baylor, but

where's the support? Compared with the scientific support for the

mercury hypothesis, the folic acid hypothesis is extremely weak.

Another related theory advanced by Beaudet suggests that presence of

MTHFR polymorphism protects against autism. Research soon to be

published shows the opposite.

On testosterone:

Dr. Boyd Haley has shown in vitro that mercury and other heavy metals

are more toxic to neurons in the presence of testosterone than without

testosterone. He suggests that there exists synergistic toxicity

between thimerosal, mercury, lead other heavy metals and testosterone.

Dr. Simon Baron-Cohen has shown that mothers of autistic children have

higher levels of testosterone in their amniotic fluid than neurotypical

controls. He has just presented a study showing that children of

mothers with comparatively higher levels of testosterone in their

amniotic fluid have a higher incidence of language delay, developmental

delay, obsessive compulsive disorder, etc.

Of course Baron-Cohen uses this to support his psychological theory of

" extreme maleness " in autism. But Baron-Cohen's data tends to show the

manifestation of what Dr. Haley has shown in the laboratory. The

strong suggestion of Baron-Cohen's data is that mercury is more toxic

and more likely to cause developmental problems in children with

comparatively high levels of testosterone.

Bob Krakow

Date: Tue, 20 Apr 2004 21:18:58 +0200

From: " Lottner " <Lottner@...>

Subject: Re: Re: Could Folic Acid Inadvertently Cause Autism?

There has been a thread lately about research ongoing regarding why

males

are more likely to be affected (ASD) than females. Theoretically, the

same

exposure could result in harm to one twin and not the other since they

are

different genetically. One could have had more likelihood of developing

ASD. (I think the research theory was that testosterone makes one more

prone to the damage caused by environmental triggers. Anyone remember

any

more on this?)

[ ] Re: Could Folic Acid Inadvertently Cause

Autism?

> My gut reaction is the same as Mark's. I took 800mcg of folic acid

> (recommended)before we conceived. Then I took the prenatal vitamins

> provided once I was pregnant with my twins. My son & daughter

> (fraternal twins) were both fine until around 15mo. when my son

> started banging his head, got an ear infection, huge respitory cold,

> started being agressive and hitting us, combative, crying....all

> within 10 days his Hepatitus B shot! My daughter is completely

> unaffectived/normal...zero symptoms. They are 3 now. They would

> have both been affected most likely if it was a placental issue in

> womb...i.e. folate, me eating too much tuna/fish, etc.

>

> JT

J. Krakow

Attorney At Law

225 Broadway, Suite 2700

New York, New York 10007

(212) 227-0600

(646) 349-1771 (fax)

April 20, 2004

I have a question for you. If I had an amnio, would the level of testosterone

be one of the things that would be in the report sent back to my ObGyn? If so,

I could get a copy of my amnio results for my son, born in 2000 and check to see

if the testosterone level was high. Thanks, KIM