The overuse of Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide on our food is causing glyphosate toxicity and it is now being considered as the single most important factor in development of autism and other chronic disease. At a recent panel discussion about GMOs, a senior scientist has stated that one in two children will be autistic by 2025.Many different protocols do lead to cures for many children with autistic spectrum disorders (ASDs) and as healers, we must embrace them at all levels if we’re to ever unleash reliable methods of treatment to what is now millions of children with autism.

The study involving a total of 109 children in Egypt aged 3-10 years is said to be the first double-blinded randomised clinical trial proving the efficacy of vitamin D3 in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) patients. The effect was not seen in the placebo group.

Researchers from the Assiut University in Egypt said the findings could justify new recommendations for children with the condition.

However they warned: “At this stage, this study is a single RCT with a small number of patients, and a great deal of additional wide-scale studies are needed to critically validate the efficacy of vitamin D in ASD.”

Researchers have previously shown that there are specific molecular signaling events by which vitamin D prevents inflammation. Low levels of Vitamin D, comparable to levels found in millions of people, fail to inhibit the inflammatory cascade–a series of rapid biochemical events which propagates and matures the inflammatory response some of which aggravate symptoms of ASD. However, levels considered adequate do inhibit inflammatory signaling.

What Is Autism Spectrum Disorder?

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD), which can include forms like Asperger syndrome, is a condition that affects social interaction, communication, interests and behaviour.

Symptoms usually present themselves by the time a child is three years old, and can include difficulty with eye contact and body language and deviations from routine often triggering tantrums.

Carol Povey, director of the Centre for Autism at the National Autistic Society in the UK, echoed this saying it was “too early” to draw any firm conclusions from the study.

“It is important to remember that autism is a lifelong disability – children who are autistic will become autistic adults – and the most crucial thing is that every autistic person has the right support to meet their needs,” she told us.

“We urge that parents and autistic people do not base any decisions on this research until further studies are carried out.

“However, if reproducible large scale research can confirm this finding, it is possible that Vitamin D, alongside the right support, could help improve the lives of the 140,000 children on the autism spectrum in the UK.”

Mounting Evidence

There is no ‘cure’ for autism, instead it is managed though education, supportive care, and behavioural strategies.

However this paper follows previous findings suggesting an association between the risk of ASD and low vitamin D levels.

Data published last year showed 57% of children with ASD had vitamin D deficiency, and another 30% of them had vitamin D ‘insufficiency’ and these levels were also linked with the severity of autism.

Maternal vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy and/or early childhood has also been put forward as a possible risk factor in the development of the condition.

The Daily D Dose

The daily doses in this latest study were worked out at 300 international units (IU) of vitamin D3 per kg of the children’s body weight and never exceeded 5,000 IU per day.

This year the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) set an adequate intake (AI) level of 15 micrograms (600 IU) per day from food sources for adults and children.

The opinion built on from its 2012 recommendation that children aged 11-17 years should not exceed Tolerable Upper Intake Levels (ULs) of 100 micro-g per day (4,000 IU) while younger children should not exceed 50 micro-g/day (2,000 IU).

The researchers said the realitively high rates of vitamin D3 given to the children were “well tolerated”.

They said side effects such as skin rashes, itching and diarrhea were reported in five (8.3%) of the children.

Yet they said these side effects were mild and brief and only three patients discontinued the vitamin D treatment.

Measuring Changes

The autism severity and social maturity of the children were assessed using the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS), Aberrant Behavior Checklist (ABC), Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) and the Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist (ATEC).

These scores tracked symptoms like irritability, hyperactivity, social withdrawal and inappropriate speech.

CARS scores improved by a 4-10 point drop in 42 (76.4%) of the children given vitamin D, while another 10 (18.2%) had a 1-3-point improvement. Only three (5.4%) children showed no improvements.

The paper was penned by researchers from eight different institutions: Assiut University, Aswan University, South Valley University and Alazhar University in Egypt, Almajmaah University in Saudi Arabia, the Council for Nutritional and Environmental Medicine in Norway, the First Hospital of Jilin in China and the University of Exeter in England.