Treating an individual with autism is a complex process, often involving a combination of behavioral therapy and medication. According to the non-profit organization Autism Speaks, which is dedicated to spreading awareness about the condition, physicians also have to take secondary medical issues, such as sleep deprivation and epilepsy, into account when determining how to best manage a particular autism case.
However, researchers have recently discovered that one specific and rare variant of autism may be drastically simpler to treat. Led by child neurologist Joseph Gleeson, scientists from the University of California, San Diego, discovered that lab mice that were missing a gene that contributes to amino acid regulation showed brain health impairments directly comparable to a rare hereditary form of autism that is accompanied by epileptic symptoms.
According to Nature magazine, the research team discovered that replenishing the depleted amino acids with nutritional supplements or targeted dietary shifts could actually make up for the missing gene and therefore may prevent the onset of the autistic symptoms it caused.
The missing gene is reportedly related to an enzyme that prevents the body from splitting up certain essential branch-chain amino acids. Without this, scientists involved in the study explained that individuals would simply "burn through" the amino acids, leaving an insufficient amount in the blood stream. They tested this theory by performing blood tests on six children with this condition after a meal, and found that the subjects had a reduced amount of the nutrients.
Just as they did with the lab mice, the researchers provided the autistic children with supplements loaded with the three missing amino acids – lucine, valine and soleucine. The scientific publication states that the parents of the children tested said they appeared to be doing better, which, though "anecdotal," according to the researchers, still indicated that this rare condition may ultimately be treatable.