Last updated 6th June 2016

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INTRODUCTION

Newer concepts in the pathophysiology and investigations in Autism Spectrum disorders have shown that many of the medical problems associated with or aggravating autistic traits, can be overcome to a variable extent, to enhance quality of life of children with autism, though cure may not be available due to the inborn multi-genetic problem.
Modern early medical intervention therapy with regulated diet, avoiding allergens, treating allergies and infections in gut and appropriate micronutrient support has shown very encouraging outcomes, with responder children (with up to 80% responders with any one intervention) changing for the good within 3 months or earlier. Those who do not show any response to a particular intervention within 6 months may not be able to show very encouraging results in future either, though there may be exceptions.

The problem with Autism now out-numbers CP by almost 8 to 10 fold. Hence, in a fresh approach is now mandatory MB12: Some children have inability to transform food Vitamin B12 to Methyl B12 in the liver, for which specific genetic outputs are necessary, and which are often abnormal (C677T gene polymorphism). The Methyl radical needs to be delivered to specific neural sites for a variety of neural activities and proper maintenance of the Methylation pathways. Most such children are deficient in the necessaqry enzymatic support, which can be helped to a large extent in most such cases by giving super-concentrated preservative free vitamin MB12 subcutaneous injections at specific dose at specific sites. Many ASD children genetically lack the capacity for efficient excretion of heavy metals like mercury. After proper identification of chronic heavy metal poisoning, these children may be helped by appropriate heavy metal removal strategies. More than 5000 years of Indian medicinal herbal knowledge has identified 2 shrubs that produce a chemical called "BRAHMI" (Centenella asiatica, and to a lessor extent, Bacopa monieri) used for repair and regeneration of brain tissue. The art of purification, standardization, andf formulation was lost with the passage of time. The Dept. of CCRUM under Ministry of Health, Govt. of India, did the needful. The first Randomised Double Blind Placebo Controlled, SPECT 3-D Fusion SCan of Brain based study of the drug in children with CP at UDAAN for the Disabled in the mid 2000s showed the safety and efficacy of the formulation in enhancing Cognitive Powers of the brain in the selected CP children with cognitive impairment.

The second Randomised Double Blind Placebo Controlled study has started at UDAAN evaluate the brain healing power of Brahmi in children wityh Autism aged 3 to 10 years. All children will simultaneously receive a balanced well tolerated nonpallergenic and non-reactive diet, micronutrient deficiency correction and routine standard therapies, so that selected volunteered children are never denied the standard management approach at any time. The Bacopa supplementation will thus be applicable to a batch of children with identical management except Bacopa.

SPECT 3-D Fusion Scans of brain can show children who have developed perfusion defect with anoxic damage in brain due to the multifactorial ASD pathologies. They may be helped where appropriate, with the help of low or regular pressure Hyperbaric air/oxygen therapy. Safety requires the use of a special protocol developed at UDAAN to reduce risk of epilepsy due to hyperbaric therapy. The UDAAN Multimode Early Medical Intervention Therapy Project plans to study these modern medical advances in very scientific detail, at a cost that many more Indian families may be able to afford. Stem cell therapy, in intractible cases, done under Helsinki Protocol provisions, with all precautions and guidelines as recommended by regulatorty authorities, should only be thought of as the very last resort since it is an experimental therapy with no guarrantee of benefit or safety, only hope. It is necessary to use the appropriate type, purity, HLA/DR tested, infection/endotoxin free, Adult Human Stromal Stem Cell sample at a correct individualised dose, given by the correct route, to the correct target organ. The recipient must be categorically told that the procedure is experimental with NO guarrantee of cure or safety. Just remember one thing: you cannot repair a damaged machine using damaged equipment: A hint to the wise should be enough

AUTISM

Our work in Autism has been inspired by the valuable work done in Autism by workers like Dr. James Neubrander (of MB12 fame) of New Jersey, Dr. Dan Rossignol of University of Virginia, USA (President of MAPS), Dr. Paul Harch , President of International Hyperbaric Medical Association, USA, late Dr. R A Neubauer of Florida, Dr. Pierre Marois of Canada and many others

The Interventions

• Psychological Assassment and related counselling
• Standard Therapy (OT including Sensory Integration Therapy, Special Education, Speech Therapy) after detailed clinical assessment by concerned Therapists using Internationally approved scales and methodologies
• Medical assessment using appropriate in-depth pathological testing and thorough medical checkup as per standard guidelines, to try and identify symptom aggravating genetic defects / inborn errors of metabolism and allergens.
• Appropriate dietary guidelines and allergen avoidance, including examining if a GFCF Diet helps the child.
• Treating all intercurrent infections is essential especially if the child shows sudden change of behavior, foolish behavior, aggressive behavior,etc.
• Biomedical Treatment includes individual specific investigation based corrections in macro- and micro-nutrients, avoidance of foods and chemicals that aggravate ADHD and worsen behavior as well as other aids to ways and means for reducing such behavior, eradication of specific infections whose endo-toxins cause injury causing (to self or others) tendency or foolish behavior with passage of very foul smelling flatus, correction of free-radical status, correction of gut flora, boosting of natural killer cell activity, enhancing nerve growth in brain to help reduce under-connectivity - a characteristic of autism demonstrated by Carnegie Mellon University using DSI scans, and so on as required for a particular child.
• Genetic tests to be detect MB12 deficiency-causing polymorphism, Fragile-X, Tuberus Sclerosis, Trisomy, etc. Many would also have high levels of Homocysteine. Corrective or symptom-reducing guidelines are given as appropriate.
• Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy: mHBAT and rHBOT has shown some encouraging results in Autism abroad. The UDAAN HBOT-Based Multimode Therapy for SPECT scan proven hypoxic brain injury causing Cerebral Palsy in Young Children, with data on 150 children so treated was presented and highly appreciated at the 7th International Symposium on Hyperbaric Oxygenation and the Future of Healing, at Irvine, CA, USA, in July 2010 and is available on Youtube as a series of seven sequential files marked 1-7 to 7-7 A more highly statistically analysed paper with an International team of advisors has been published in the March 2014 issue of the Undersea Hyperbaric Medicine, the world's foremost HBOT journal.
  Hyperbaric Therapy is given ONLY after we identify children with brain blood perfusion defects on SPECT 3D Fusion Scan of brain, and give low pressure Hyperbaric Air Therapy to reduce edema, reduce inflammation, promote new blood capillary growth, enhance brain perfusion, and stimulate stem cell activity. This is done under stringent medical supervision, regular blood tests, re-assessments, serial video and clinical recording. The usual time to noticeable improvement in responders (usually 75%) is 4 to 6 months. Where we judge appropriate, regular 1.5 to 2 ATA HBOT is also available.

1. SOMA'S RPM ® WORKSHOP AND CONFERENCE, DELHI NOV. 2016

   Want to know how to enhance communication skills and speech in your special child, using Rapid Prompt Method of Communcation?
   Why go searching when you have access to the Maestro herself at Hamdard Convention Center, Hamdard University, in southern part of New Delhi, India, on 20 to 22 November 2016. .......... CLICK TO SEE MORE …..
2. FREE Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) Therapy for CP and the brain injured child, for the first 50 children meeting our Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria. Children from South Delhi or those who can visit UDAAN daily are preferred. The project is expected to last six months per child, with on-and off therapy as per protocol, per child.
3. FREE Computer assisted Neurofeedback Therapy for children and teen-agers with Attention Deficit problems, as per inclusion and exclusion criteria.
4. Free purified and standardised Bramhi (Bacopa) in Autism, for brain repair and recovery, in 50 children children with Autism Spectrum, aged 3 years to teen-age meeting the Inclusion and Exclusion creieria, for a six month each.
5. Computer Assisted Neurofeedback at rebated rates
6. Brain mapping to identify genetic traits and focus of improvement techniques and inherent abilities, available at rebated rates.

Duration parents with children need to stay at South Delhi if they want to these newer medical interventions:

1. Depends on intervention.
2. One week every 3 months, for periodic assessments, laboratory tests and guidance about necessary drugs, vitamin and mineral supplements.
3. Hyperbaric Therapy will require continous stay at Delhi for 2 to 3 months as it is administered as one or two session per working day

Special Facilities to be made available to enrolled children:

1. Children with not only Autism but some other disabilities also, e,g, Down's, are tested for MTHFR and clinically, to decide whether they will respond better to Injectable (subcutaneously, one third of a drop of water by volume, once in 72 hours) or oral (MB12 tablets IN PROPER DOSE AT PROPER INTERVALS) to enhance their DNA/RNA decoding, Dopamine D4 receptor activation and protein synthesis. Directions are also given on how to obtain the best quality drug and from where.
2. Children with Autism have decreased level of Anti-Oxidants like Glutathione, SOD, etc. This enhances inflammatory injury in selected areas of neural tissues in brain, as seen in SPECT 3D Fusion Scan (available at New Delhi at a subsidized rate for UDAAN patients) or fMRI Scan of Brain. Because of their (autism affected children) extra vulnerability to Free Radical damage, many US authorities recommend that they be given HBA at 1.3 ATA using room air (20% Oxygen) only. UDAAN has the necessary Hyperbaric chambers, specifically built to these specifications, along with access to regular chambers for higher dose HBOT with 100% Oxygenm to suit a particular patient.
3. Diet guidelines, especially non-allergenic, GFCF and well tolerated diets, provided by an experienced Dietician
4. Health care is by Dr. A Mukherjee, MBBS, MD (Internal Medicine) and Asia's only Fellow of Medical Academy of Pediatric Special-needs.
5. During the stay at Delhi for Low Pressure HBA and/or other interventional therapies, special arrangements for Standard Therapy (Special Education, SI, OT, Speech, ADL Training, Arts and Crafts, Pre-Vocational Training, and so on) have been made at a new dedicated well equipped center, providing one-to-one therapy by therapists experienced in handling autistic children.
6. Children staying on at Delhi may avail of continued one-to-one therapy.
7. Lab tests recommended SRL Religare Lab, an Internationally accredited labs with an All India network of collection centers so that the same test kit is used everytime, in order to achieve uniformity of result quality. In NCT Delhi, arrangements are available for home collection as well as a rebate for children referred by us.

1. UDAAN does not have a Guest House.
2. However, there are many decent, clean, affordable middle class guest houses availoable nearby, which may be availed of by those desirous of short, medium or long term stay.

Special Facility for all Children with Autism in India, even though they may not be a part of the UDAAN Project

1. Any child with Autism, whether or not a part of the research project, may avail of the checkup facilities through us at Delhi.
2. Children who have already started DAN protocol and Standard therapies, may get their low pressure HBA done at UDAAN, subject to availability of spare time (limited seats). For details and logistics, contact at UDAAN.