Hi! Michael Sylvester was reading this article at Better Health (http://www.betterhealth.com/) and thought it might be of interest to you. H/She also wanted to let you know: Should I assume that vegetarians and other milk and milk product abstainers are less vulnerable to schizophrenia? can be a defense of breast feeding in lieu of formula feeding? Here's the article: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Milk Protein May Play Role in Mental Disorders NEW YORK (Reuters Health) -- Mental illnesses such as autism and schizophrenia may be linked to the improper digestive breakdown of casein, a protein found in milk and milk products, US researchers report. The study findings suggest that a malfunctioning enzyme in the intestine may be to blame. This dysfunction may produce high levels of smaller protein compounds called exorphins, which infiltrate the brain and cause hallucinations and other disturbances. "We now have proof positive that these proteins are getting into the blood and proof positive that they're getting into the areas of the brain involved with the symptoms of autism and schizophrenia," explained study lead author Dr. J. Robert Cade of the University of Florida in Gainesville. The findings are reported in two papers published in the March issue of the journal Autism. In their first study, the team report that the brains of rats injected with one casein-related byproduct -- human beta-CM7 -- showed uptake of the protein in neurological centers previously linked with autism and schizophrenia. Affected areas included those influencing vision, hearing, and communication. In a statement from the University of Florida, Cade said these findings "could explain several things one sees in autism and schizophrenia, such as hallucinations. If part of the brain puts out a false signal because of (beta-CM7), it could result in the person seeing something that's not really there; either a visual or auditory hallucination could occur." In healthy humans, casein breakdown results in only minimal production of beta-CM7 and other exorphins. Cade speculates that this process may be impaired in schizophrenic and autistic individuals. Indeed, the preliminary results of his team's current studies in autistic and schizophrenic children suggest that these children have up to 100 times the normal level of milk proteins in blood and urine. The researchers also found that the schizophrenic or autistic symptoms of about 80% of these children fade or disappear after they are switched to milk-free diets. The connection between autism, schizophrenia and milk proteins was supported by the results of the second report published in the journal. In that study, Cade and co-author Dr. Zhongjie Sun found that intravenous administration of beta-CM7 produced "remarkable" behavioral changes in rats. These behavioral changes ranged from restlessness "with teeth chattering and with rapid respiration" about a minute after administration, to inactivity as well as avoidance of other animals within about 7 minutes of injection, according to the authors. The rats were also oblivious to a bell ringing in near proximity following beta-CM7 administration. Cade said "this struck us as interesting because many mothers of autistic children comment that they sometimes seem to be totally deaf -- they talk to their children and they just don't seem to hear them." Cade cautioned that more research is needed to confirm these findings. Commenting on the studies, Dr. Bennett Leventhal of the University of Chicago School of Medicine, noted that schizophrenia and autism are "distinctly different disorders" with complex origins. "It is certainly possible that these (digestive) genetic abnormalities could lead to the metabolic effects Dr. Cade mentions," he explained in a statement, "though there is not substantial support for that at this time." SOURCE: Autism 1999;3:67-83, 85-95. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ If you would like to see this article online, or others like it, join us at: Better Health is a member of iVillage.com: The Women's Network http://www.ivillage.com/ Copyright 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999 iVillage, Inc. All rights reserved
