%0 Journal Article
%T Effectiveness of Methylcobalamin and Folinic Acid Treatment on Adaptive Behavior in Children with Autistic Disorder Is Related to Glutathione Redox Status
%A Richard E. Frye
%A Stepan Melnyk
%A George Fuchs
%A Tyra Reid
%A Stefanie Jernigan
%A Oleksandra Pavliv
%A Amanda Hubanks
%A David W. Gaylor
%A Laura Walters
%A S. Jill James
%J Autism Research and Treatment
%D 2013
%I Hindawi Publishing Corporation
%R 10.1155/2013/609705
%X Treatments targeting metabolic abnormalities in children with autism are limited. Previously we reported that a nutritional treatment significantly improved glutathione metabolism in children with autistic disorder. In this study we evaluated changes in adaptive behaviors in this cohort and determined whether such changes are related to changes in glutathione metabolism. Thirty-seven children diagnosed with autistic disorder and abnormal glutathione and methylation metabolism were treated with twice weekly 75£¿¦Ìg/Kg methylcobalamin and twice daily 400£¿¦Ìg folinic acid for 3 months in an open-label fashion. The Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale (VABS) and glutathione redox metabolites were measured at baseline and at the end of the treatment period. Over the treatment period, all VABS subscales significantly improved with an average effect size of 0.59, and an average improvement in skills of 7.7 months. A greater improvement in glutathione redox status was associated with a greater improvement in expressive communication, personal and domestic daily living skills, and interpersonal, play-leisure, and coping social skills. Age, gender, and history of regression did not influence treatment response. The significant behavioral improvements observed and the relationship between these improvements to glutathione redox status suggest that nutritional interventions targeting redox metabolism may benefit some children with autism. 1. Introduction Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by significant impairment in reciprocal social interaction and communication as well as restricted interests and repetitive behaviors. An estimated 1 of 88 individuals in the United States is affected with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) [1]. Although several genetic syndromes are associated with ASD, all of these genetic syndromes together only account for a minority of ASD cases [2]. Other areas of novel research have concentrated on systemic physiological abnormalities, such as mitochondrial dysfunction [3, 4], oxidative stress [5¨C7], and inflammation/immune dysregulation [8¨C10]. These novel areas of research have substantially grown over the last decade [11]. These emerging areas of research have provided a new understanding of the diverse mechanisms involved in ASD and have promoted the idea that the autism spectrum is composed of several subgroups or endophenotypes [12]. Several lines of evidence support the notion of an ASD endophenotype with abnormal redox and methylation metabolism. In two case-control studies we reported that redox and methylation
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/aurt/2013/609705/