mkur

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15893431 Does anyone know if treating your dog monthly for ticks and heartworms will eliminate tick/flea transmitted parasites?

About those aspirin studies: I would like to add this is about the same time the doctors made it difficult to get your tonsils removed - were freely handing out antibiotics. Then the doctors made it difficult to get antibiotics. I have had many fights with my DS ex-ped to get him tested for strep throat even tho my child has had scarlet fever. Ped kept saying it was an another unnecessary test and my child had a viral infection. My child tends to vomit when he has strep. I had to switch peds. My father told me to find an older dr who had seen everything. This dr had a older brother who died from RF and would give DS a strep test if needed. He also helped me get a T&A for younger son because of speech delay and repeated ear infections - fluid. I tried to get DS's T&A removed but the NIH was not recommending T&A for PANDAS and his ears were no longer getting infected with the same frequency. I have an older child and we were impacted by those changes during the 90's. IMO - the studies are probably flawed - lots of changes occurred. edit - fix typos

My son is sleep dependent - has major trouble functioning without it. He has always been a long sleeper - 12+ hours - always told this is a normal variance. I have recently learned that this is not normal and is called hypersomnia - which can also be an autoimmune problem. We did the adderall (to wake him up) and clonidine (to put him to sleep) for years - nothing changed. Sleep has been linked to bp and lots of other problems. I have been researching online about hypersomnia and gaba and thought you might like to view the following ytube videos http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbS-wMfHiCI (author has many more videos available) Maybe the gaba is waking him up - getting rid of the brain fog. I'm so happy you got to see your son's true self and hope this is the answer. Best wishes.

It links to the abstracts. Sorry I don't have access to the original reports. They are listed on the NIH.

The neurologists are going to have to admit this is a big problem. http://www.neurology.org/cgi/collection/all_infections features: EDITORIALS: Is the microbe–dementia hypothesis finally ready for a treatment trial? Neurology 2013 80:1182-1183. ARTICLE: Infectious burden and cognitive function: The Northern ManhattanStudy Neurology 2013 80:1209-1215. edited spacing

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/05/for-athletes-risks-from-ibuprofen-use/

The link is to the abstract which has 5 diagrams that are also interesting. http://www.nature.com/neuro/journal/v15/n8/full/nn.3159.html "During illnesses caused by infectious disease or other sources of inflammation, a suite of brain-mediated responses called the sickness syndrome occurs, which includes fever, anorexia, sleepiness, hyperalgesia and elevated corticosteroid secretion. Much of the sickness syndrome is mediated by prostaglandins acting on the brain and can be prevented by nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, such as aspirin or ibuprofen, that block prostaglandin synthesis. By examining which prostaglandins are produced at which sites and how they interact with the nervous system, researchers have identified specific neural circuits that underlie the sickness syndrome." edit 3 to 5 diagrams - use arrows

Wider Letter Spacing Helps Dyslexic Children http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/06/120607105712.htm This might help someone with a reading disability.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/daviddisalvo/2012/10/31/study-suggests-that-well-one-day-be-able-to-switch-off-bad-habits-in-our-brains/

Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2012 Oct 20. pii: S0149-7634(12)00177-7. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2012.10.010. [Epub ahead of print] Environmental Factors in Tourette Syndrome. Hoekstra PJ, Dietrich A, Edwards MJ, Elamin I, Martino D. Source Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands. Abstract Environmental exposures during the prenatal period, perinatal stages, and postnatal life may contribute to onset and course of Tourette syndrome (TS). Pregnancy-related noxious exposures may be more frequent in pregnancies of children who will develop TS, particularly maternal smoking and prenatal life stressors. Lower birth weight and use of forceps at delivery may be associated with tic severity in the offspring; moreover, low birth weight and maternal smoking during pregnancy may affect the risk of co-morbid attention-deficit/hyperactivity and obsessive-compulsive disorders. Group A streptococcal infections as risk-modifier for TS has not been convincingly demonstrated to date, although an interaction with stressors was suggested. The PANDAS hypothesis is currently undergoing a nosological revision. Only limited anecdotal evidence supports a link of TS to other pathogens. Nevertheless, the relationship between infections and TS may be complex. Recent data point to intrinsically altered immune regulation in TS, which might predispose to both infections and autoimmune mechanisms; however, evidence of cell-mediated and antibody-mediated autoimmunity in TS is still insufficient. Psychosocial stress remains the most important contextual factor influencing tic severity, as confirmed by prospective studies. This might in part be related to enhanced reactivity of the stress response in TS patients, the mechanisms of which need to be explored further. New studies on large prospective cohorts of patients of different age and the identification of reliable biomarkers or endophenotypes indicating early, prenatal exposure to environmental insults are needed. Copyright © 2012. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Found this very interesting: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fructose_malabsorption says "up to 30% of the population of Western countries and Africa" and "The physiological consequences of fructose malabsorption include increased osmotic load, rapid bacterial fermentation, altered gastrointestinal motility, the formation of mucosal biofilm and altered profile of bacteria" "Some effects of fructose malabsorption are decreased tryptophan[citation needed], folic acid[5] and zinc in the blood.[6]" I don't know anything else about this but will do some more research.

These stories just break my heart.

Doctor shopping vs 2nd opinion - we're told to always get a 2nd opinion. I don't think it is doctor shopping if you keep getting different opinions and you keep looking for an answer and treatment that works.

My son got sick when he was 7. He would complain that his chest hurt when he had "headaches". It was caught on tape when he was 8 during an ekg as a partial right bundle block. He was then referred to local children's hospital where they did full heart workup - xrays, more ekgs etc - heart normal. He is now taking small dose of proranolol for fast heartrate.

http://abcnews.go.com/watch/nightline/SH5584743/VD55208665/nightline-65-vaccines-stored-in-dangerous-conditions nightline did segment on this - our local news also reported on it.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167876012001444 Sex moderates the relationship between worry and performance monitoring brain activity in undergraduates

Found the following website and info interesting: http://www.enotes.com/streptococcal-antibody-tests-reference/streptococcal-antibody-tests-172435 "Purpose Tests for streptococcal antibodies are preformed in order to document a recent infection with Group A streptococcus (Streptococcus pyrogenes). The antistreptolysin O titer, or ASO, is ordered primarily to determine whether a previous Group A streptococcus infection has caused a post streptococcal disease, such as scarlet fever, rheumatic fever, or glomerulonephritis. The ASO test also detects Groups C and G streptococci, which also produce streptolysin O. Antibodies to streptolysin O are produced in approximately 75-80% of Group A streptococcus infections, but are usually not seen in skin infections caused by this organism. The antibodies are usually detected within one to two weeks following acute pharyngitis. The anti-DNase-B (ADB) test is also performed to determine a previous infection with Group A streptococci. Antibodies to DNase-B appear almost exclusively in Group A streptoccal infections, appear somewhat earlier than those to streptolysin O, and are produced by 85-90% of persons with group A streptococcal skin infections. When used with the ASO test, the ADB test adds clincial sensitivity." My son has had a group G infection and I have always wondered about it.

Wishful thinking: I hope this is my ds problem - easy fix. My son was sick a lot when he was little and put on lots of abx - this was when they quit taking out tonsils. This would also explain the benefit of epson salt baths (mg sulfate). Wiki's mg sulfate says that it can be absorbed thr the skin and can reduce inflammation. The website you referred to offers mg bath flakes listed as mg chloride. I looks up mg chloride in wiki and found the following comments very interesting. "Toxicology Magnesium ions are bitter-tasting, and magnesium chloride solutions are bitter in varying degrees, depending on the concentration of magnesium. Magnesium toxicity from magnesium salts is rare in healthy individuals with a normal diet, because excess magnesium is readily excreted in urine by the kidneys. A few cases of oral magnesium toxicity have been described in persons with normal renal function ingesting large amounts of magnesium salts, but it is rare. If a large amount of magnesium chloride is eaten, it will have effects similar to magnesium sulfate, causing diarrhea, although the sulfate also contributes to the laxative effect in magnesium sulfate, so the effect from the chloride is not as severe." "Medical and veterinary use Medically-prescribed magnesium supplements such as Slo-Mag and Mag-SR contain magnesium chloride which is slowly released from a matrix. However, since magnesium is absorbed by the body in ionic form (after the salt dissolves in water) such supplements have no advantage over any soluble magnesium salt (for example, magnesium citrate or magnesium aspartate)." Use in Gardening and Horticulture Because magnesium is a mobile nutrient, magnesium chloride can be effectively used as a substitute for Magnesium Sulfate (Epsom Salt) to help correct magnesium deficiency in plants via foliar feeding. It is advisable to use a smaller dose when using magnesium chloride compared to the recommended dose of magnesium sulfate (20 g/L).[9] This is due primarily to the chlorine present in magnesium chloride, which can easily reach toxic levels if over-applied and/or applied too often.[10] Wonder if this is also a problem for humans? Wiki mg sulfate says that it can be absorbed thr the skin and can reduce inflammation. http://www.drugs.com/mtm/magnesium-chloride.html Lists it as a drug and give med interactions. Epson salt (mg sulfate) has 144 drug interactions listed. Nothing is ever simple ....

My last labs showed high cholesterol levels for the first time so this thread got me looking and I found this on pubmed. Comparison of mechanism and functional effects of magnesium and statin pharmaceuticals http://www.jacn.org/content/23/5/501S.long

Here's something else to check for: Hypothyroidism, Blood Sugar and Cholesterol By Howard LeWine, M.D., Harvard Health Publications http://health.msn.com/health-topics/cholesterol/hypothyroidism-blood-sugar-and-cholesterol DS has normal cholesterol (97 range50-200) and low triglycerides (46 range50-150) MTHFR not tested Good luck

I remember reading the same thing. Can someone ask Dr L and Dr M what they know? Can someone ask Dr B and Dr T also? I would be more than happy to test my son if they want more data and think this would help. I probably need to check into this so that I can put this idea to rest.

I found the following comment by one of the doctors interesting: He said that OCD could be low or high glutmate levels. How? You (referring to myself) would think it would be one or the other. For example: Dopamine low=parkinson and high=tourettes. I read somewhere that low glutmate can cause high dopamine levels. So confusing....

So happy for you and your son. Hope it lasts a long time - like forever.

That's awesome. You sure have been busy this month (or week?). Best Wishes.

For those pandas parents interested in sex-bias and disease: Horm Behav. 2012 Feb 22. [Epub ahead of print] Sex, glia, and development: Interactions in health and disease. Schwarz JM, Bilbo SD. Abstract Microglia and astrocytes are the primary immune cells within the central nervous system. Microglia influence processes including neural development, synaptic plasticity and cognition; while their activation and production of immune molecules can induce stereotyped sickness behaviors or pathologies including cognitive dysfunction. Given their role in health and disease, we propose that glia may also be a critical link in understanding the etiology of many neuropsychiatric disorders that present with a strong sex-bias in their symptoms or prevalence. Specifically, males are more likely to be diagnosed with disorders that have distinct developmental origins such as autism or schizophrenia. In contrast, females are more likely to be diagnosed with disorders that present later in life, after the onset of adolescence, such as depression and anxiety disorders. In this review we will summarize the evidence suggesting that sex differences in the colonization and function of glia within the normal developing brain may contribute to distinct windows of vulnerability between males and females. We will also highlight the current gaps in our knowledge as well as the future directions and considerations of research aimed at understanding the link between neuroimmune function and sex differences in mental health disorders. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. PMID: 22387107 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]