Is Autism an Infection?

By J.B. Handley

During Jenny McCarthy’s historic interview with Larry King, she said something that has stayed with me ever since. Here’s the excerpt:

LARRY KING: What is autism?.

JENNY MCCARTHY: Wow! Well, it differs for a lot of people. But -- or opinions. But I believe that's -- it's an infection and/or toxins and/or funguses on top of vaccines that push children into this neurological downslide which we call autism.

Can someone rewind that? Autism is an infection? What the hell does that mean? Even for a parent like me, deeply steeped in the biomedical approach to autism recovery, this was a paradigm-shifting comment.

In the days that followed Jenny’s interview, I spent a great deal of time reading and re-reading many of my favorite sites and papers on autism, and found myself most struck by the remarkable insights of a remarkable parent, Stan Kurtz. In particular, Stan produced a “bible” of sorts that explained his perspective on autism, which largely subscribes to this infection theory. (You can read Stan’s writings HERE.)

There are so many interesting insights in Stan’s extensive writings that it’s hard to do it justice here, but a few include:

- Simultaneous (I call it “carpet bombing”) treatment of bacteria, yeast, and viruses can produce remarkable results in a child.

- It’s this combination of factors (along with metals) that creates the “infection” and effectively shuts a child’s system down.

- Valtrex (for viruses) and Diflucan/Nizoral (for yeast) are receiving positive feedback from many parents (and using Valtrex without Diflucan/Nizoral is likely to produce bad results).

- The protocol used is critical to the success of this carpet-bombing approach: dosing of antifungals and Valtrex, times given during the day, duration, etc. (Parents who give up early or use Nyastatin instead of Diflucan get worse results in general.)

- Supporting a child with Methyl B-12 during this protocol is key, as is a narrowed diet that is less likely to feed pathogens (the ‘Caveman Diet”).

Jenny’s comments and Stan’s writings caused us to take a step back with our own son. We slowed down what we were doing and decided to focus 100% on his gut. We are very pleased with what we have seen.

One of the challenges with spreading the word about biomedical intervention is its complexity and extreme reliance on parental compliance. It’s my opinion that Stan’s writings deserve even greater understanding, circulation, and scrutiny. His protocol is relatively simple and straightforward. Ironically, it relies on a couple of prescription drugs (Valtrex and Diflucan). Even a mainstream pediatrician could implement this protocol for a child and monitor it – a central need if we are ever going to scale biomedical intervention for autism.

Imagine these two very different approaches with a mainstream pediatrician:

Typical approach:

“For a child with autism, a behavioral diagnosis, refer the parent to a specialist in ABA.”

Stan Kurtz Approach:

“This child is experiencing a delay in development and/or a regression in development. Also, they are experiencing an overgrowth of yeast and bacteria and have multiple low-grade viral infections simmering in their body. Please advise the parent to implement a pathogen-starving diet and a comprehensive treatment plan to simultaneously reduce the levels of yeast, bacteria, and viruses in the body with the following protocol utilizing four core treatment tools: Valtrex, Diflucan, Methyl B-12, and basic supplementation.”

Is Autism an infection? If it is, perhaps we are closer to treating more children with autism than we think.

Comments

[My Autism Recovery]

I'm glad you found a treatment that works great for you! I know that nothing can be more satisfying than watching your own son as he gradually overcomes the big (and seemingly impassible for some parents) wall that stands in the way between him and a successful life.

[Vicki]

Well, I for one have often said that as crazy as it seems I almost feel like autism is "catching". Wouldn't that help to explain some of the younger siblings of ASD children who while not having full blown autism have related delays? I know when my youngest child was a baby
I would cringe when I saw her 3 1/2 year old ASD brother with his fingers in her mouth. (Only God knows where his fingers had been. Probably in his pull up.) Then her diarrhea started. At 4 months. I managed to get her diarrhea under control for awhile and then it came back. And back. As a result I'm eagerly awaiting the results of the research at Thoughtful House on possible horizontal transmission of measles virus between siblings.

[Allison]

I have been on Stan's sight for almost 2 years. He is a wonderful father who stuck around in the Autism crusade even after he recovered his own son. Started a school where they juice, have an HBOT chamber and an on sight Chef for the special diets. Wow if only the rest of the country had the opportunities to get this wisdom, and cross over biomed in school as well as home, early on in diagnosis. With his protocal my son made some really good progress, we had to stop due to yeast explosion, but I plan on returning with a newer better perspective of making sure all of the peices are in place 1st. He was there with Jenny every step of the way. And should be given just as much credit for the world starting to change their perspective in what autism really is. A systematic infection involving heavy metal, viruses, bacteria, and yeast. Thank you JB for giving credit where credit is due!! And as always thank you Stan....

[John B. Symes, DVM (aka]

The suspected culprits such as thimersol and bacterial/fungal/viral infections are clearly contributing factors but not the sole cause of autism for the reason many have stated: If vaccines, dfor example, were THE cause, then all who received these vaccines would have autism. There has to be a distinguishing factor...or set of factors...that creates the autistic individual while at the same time determining the spectrum of affliction seen in autism. It is not a black or white condition, is it? Like so many other conditions, autism is a spectrum disorder, ranging from mild (the best of the worst) to severe (the worst of the worst). What determines this???

Well, as has been stated, there are multiple factors at work. BUT, I am a firm believer that the single biggest factor is diet. I have read enough testimonials from mothers of autistic children who employed elimination diets like the GFCFSFCF (gluten, casein, soy and corn free) diet and had miraculous results as well as read papers on celiac disease and other food intolerances to say this with all certainty. If the diets were proper (non-harmful and fully nutritious) then the body could better handle the secondary insults/triggers thrown at it (e.g. thimersol, microorganisms, air pollution, fluoride, MSG, NutraSweet, carcinogens, and other known toxins).

But what IS the distinguishing factor in conditions like autism and epilepsy. Why does one child develop it (e.g. 3-6 weeks after their last MMR vaccine) and the other doesn't when they have been exposed to the same basic diet, environment and vaccines? I now agree with researchers who believe that VIRUSES are the true and ultimate "cause" while everything else is allowing/forcing/triggering the virus into causing the severe neurological signs seen in both autism and epilepsy.

Everyone who has yet to do so should do an Internet search for "autism, virus" and read what researchers already know and what they suspect. Through the eyes of the viral model, everything starts to make sense, including the role of thimersol, concurrent infections, food lectins, environmental pollutants, fluoride and even the sedating effects of the casomorphins and gliadomorphins derived from casein (dairy) and gluten (gliadin) respectively. The testimonials of the mothers who utilize the GFCF diet also make perfect sense, as do the failures. The best of the worst will respond quickly and dramatically...miraculously. The worst of the worst respond more slowly, as they take much longer to get the offending, underlying viruses under control.

Why? Because the foods that are restricted in the GFCFSFCF diet are doing so much harm to those who are sensitized to the glycoproteins (lectins) found in them as well as providing the sedating compounds (casomorphins/gliadomorphins) and stimulants (glutamate, aspartate, and estrogens) that contribute to the symptoms ranging from sedation to self-injurious, repetitive behaviors. These four foods (gluten, dairy, soy and corn) comprise the top 4 human, dog and cat food allergens for very good reason, with the allergies being created at the time these foods damage the intestinal villi. The allergies are screaming out at us to stop eating/feeding them...the acid reflux, chronic throat and ear infections, nasal congestion, IBS, asthma, eczemas, and other warning signs. How much clearer does it have to be?

The malabsorption syndrome that these same foods generate through the villous atrophy they induce in susceptible individuals can result in the deficiencies of calcium, iron, iodine, B complex, C and numerous trace minerals (e.g. zinc, magnesium, boron, lithium and more). Many of these are crucial to the health of the brain and immune system, especially in the developing individual.

So, what is the likelihood that autistic children are suffering from one or more of the "big 4" intolerances (gluten, dairy, soy and/or corn)? Celiac researchers now estimate that 1:30 Americans are suffering from gluten intolerance alone. (What is the incidence of autism???) Wheat is only the number two allergen. Cow milk is number one and there are no good estimates (yet) as the true incidence of casein intolerance. I certainly believe that there is a great chance that we will find that number to be higher than that for celiac disease. Soy is horrible for developing children is s many ways and corn allergy is definitely on the rise. What are the chances of an autistic child being intolerant of at least one of the "big 4"? Very good, I would imagine, especially when you read the increasing reports of phenomenal recoveries being realized when these foods are eliminated.

There is one more common sign in the autistic that speaks to the importance of these food issues and that is the food addiction that so many of them exhibit. How many autistic children are addicted to wheat and dairy products? Every time I talk to a mother of an afflicted child or see a news story about autism on TV, I hear about or observe them eating foods rich in dairy or wheat...the cereals, breads, pancakes/waffles, milk, pizza, mac and cheese, cookies, etc., etc. Sound familiar? I have had numerous moms tell me how hard it is to get them to be in the same room with a vegetable or piece of fruit. They are addicted to the very thing (foods) that are making them sick, just like a drug addict or alcoholic. It is the nature of addiction. And this addiction speaks to the truth about the harm these foods are doing. There are no healthy addictions.

And we now know that this process can begin before birth. The prenatal effects of celiac disease, for example, are potentially catastrophic. Then comes the breast and/or bottle feeding. We also know that gluten, casein, et al pass right through mom's breast milk and can directly affect the nursing infant. If the child is an undiagnosed celiac or casein intolerant and mom is loading upon bread and cheese, then by the time that child is ready for vaccines, they can be immunologically incompetent and those vaccines can do severe harm, not only the thimersol but the modified live viruses themselves. We learned this the hard way in vet medicine with numerous cases of vaccine -induced disease. As far as bottle feeding goes, it does not take a genius to know that this is incredibly unnatural and when we grasp the potentially devastating effects of subjecting these poor, infantile GI tracts, bodies and immune systems to the damaging lectins of dairy, soy and corn found in the average formula, we will all wonder what in the world we were thinking as we plugged them into our beloved child.

And, once that child has one of the viruses that are likely to be the true culprit, then all they need is an unhealthy dose of immune incompetence and to be bombarded with lectins (dietary glycoproteins from the "big 4"), fluoride and other pollutants, and the casomorphins/gliadomorphins from dairy and wheat to make their brain severely dysfunctional.

BUT, the good news??? If we stop doing what we are doing, things can get better...and, many times, in a hurry. You can believe the Success Stories on Websites like http://www.gfcfdiet.com/. The reported failures by those who have tried the diet are also explainable. Hopefully this blog will point people in the right direction to help track down those failures and correct them.

John B.Symes, DVM

[Laura]

What's Stan's research has helped to do is bring about a whole other level of understanding in regard to biomed. The synergy of these factors and the metals has wreaked so much damage in these kids - J.B.'s right, we need these findings documented, then we need a major shift in understanding in what autism is and how we can treat it. I feel like we're at least ten years ahead of everyone else. It's difficult trying to impact polcymaking when people -even many, many parents - don't understand what's actually causing their child's symptoms.
Has anyone ever considered the use of retro viral drugs for ASD?

[Emily (Carson's Mom)]

JB, you are so right! I have been re-reading a lot of Stan's writing too. His work and selfless efforts to help our kids is amazing. Also, along with the Generation Rescue site, his website was one of the first to offer our family hope and give us a game plan. It has been exciting to see him pop up in footage from Jenny's book tour - I believe he has had a profound effect on her beliefs about Autism and she is an awesome voice. We have not personally tried Valtrex yet for our little boy, but I think it could be key. Something to keep in mind is that some kids have benefitted from Stan's Valtrex regimen even though they did not show high viral levels in tests (including his own son). There is a lot of room for hope.

[Diane]

Stan Kurtz is amazing! I've also been looking at his stuff lately. We had my daughter on valtrex briefly (without Diflucan which I can't understand why her DAN! did not address this) and she did well but we stopped it at the urging of her regular pediatrician (who knows nothing). We are now going to test her again for virus/infection levels to see where she is in terms of needing to go back on Valtrex. But I will remind her DAN! of the yeast issues associated with this treatment and require that he give her diflucan as well. Check out some of Stan's videos on the web - both of his speeches and his son. He is definitely more remarkable than any parent I have met. (Sorry Jenny)