“For families struggling with autism finding the latest treatments is a top priority,” begins an October 14th WCBStv story about “a controversial approach” that “is making headlines” (which, of course, has nothing to do with the actual efficacy of said approach). The approach is hyperbaric oxygen therapy and the doctor is Dr. James Neubrander, whose website refers to autism as the “treatable untreatable disorder!.” A hyperbaric chamber will set you back $21,000, WCBStv notes. Dr. Neubrander says that HBOT treats “decreases inflammation” and somehow altars the brain chemistry of autistic children and, while there’s no studies to back it …read more

Translating Autism, a blog about autism research by Nestor L. Lopez-Duran, Ph.D., has posted a summary of a recently published study about heavy metal toxicity and detoxification capacity in autism. The study is published in the Journal of the Neurological Sciences, and is based on the notion that autistic children have a diminished ability to remove toxins—such as mercury—-from their bodies. In an effort to prove this theory, the researchers looked at urinary porphyrins as a measure of mercury exposure; specifically, they examined “urinary porphyrin metabolites (a proposed measure of heavy metal toxicity) and plasma sulfates (a proposed measure of …read more