Another immune-modulating treatment of interest in Autism – IVIG
Cell-El has been studying the issue of immune dysfunction in ASD. (see previous blog posts) The premise here is that immune dysfunction is directly related to the challenging behaviors seen in Autism and that treating that dysfunction can bring about an improvement in Autistic behavior. Based on this theory – many types of immune-modulating therapies have been examined in the treatment of Autism. Earlier, we elaborated on stem cell therapy (which is the main focus of our research) as well as Medical Cannabis and FMT.
Another immune-modulating therapy which has been researched for ASD is IVIG- IntraVenous ImmunoGlobulin. Immunoglobulins are antibodies and are part of your blood’s plasma. Human immunoglobulins are extracted from the blood of donors and then injected into the recipient through IV. It is often used as a treatment for those with immunodeficiency, including autoimmune disorders. In the case of ASD- many researchers have found markers in the blood of children with Autism which suggest a type of autoimmune disorder. Thus this treatment has been attempted in ASD as well.
Effectiveness of IVIG
Several studies review the possible effectiveness of IVIG in ASD, especially in cases of clear immune dysfunction blood markers in the child (a couple of examples: Intravenous immunoglobulin for the treatment of autoimmune encephalopathy in children with autism and Review of Clinical Studies Targeting Inflammatory Pathways for Individuals With Autism.
However, effectiveness varies and several adverse effects have also been noted, like headaches and vomiting within the first few hours after injection, which can make treatment challenging to tolerate. Treatment is costly and needs to be repeated several times to see the benefit.
Having said that – the use of IVIG as a therapy for ASD and the improvements observed serve to strengthen the claim that behavioral issues – at least in a subset of children with clear immune dysfunction – can be improved through immune-regulating treatment. One of the goals of Cell El ltd is to create tools to better diagnose ASD through objective measures. In addition the Cell-El diagnostic tool will enable better understanding of – immune dysfunction and provide a basis from which effective treatments can be developed.
Help Us Help You
You too can join our team and help us in making a difference in the lives of children with ASD and their families! For the Cell-El study, we are recruiting infants aged 10-18 months not diagnosed with ASD but with a sibling diagnosed with ASD and their mothers. Parents please help spread the word to others and thus enable this important tool to be integrated into Autism treatment as quickly as possible. Additionally, if your child is diagnosed with ASD and between the ages of 2-12 years old and you are planning to take them privately to a clinic offering Stem Cell treatment for ASD, please contact Leah at [email protected] or fill out the form to find out about eligibility to participate in our diagnostic study.