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I'm currently reading a book about autism which is written by the mother of a child who has autism. She mentioned all the research she has done to better understand the disorder. So of course in her studies she came across the famous H.M.

H.M. died this past Tuesday, December 2, 2008, at the age of 82. His real name was revealed after his death: Henry Gustav Molaison. A lot of what we now know about memory, we learned from studies on H.M. H.M. suffered from epilepsy and his entire life became a study; an experiment in real-time.

Epilepsy is something which many children with autism have been wrongly diagnosed with first. This is because the workings of the brain are very much a mystery even today with the advancements in modern medicine. In the book I'm reading the little boy had seizure after seizure and was diagnosed with epilepsy but the epilepsy medicine wasn't working and the neurologists (at first) were useless.

I am sure there are many connections and theories about how epilepsy and autism are related. How they can go hand in hand, but it is very clear that is a child has autism that treating just epilepsy will not help.

Experiments in the last century found that by breathing carbon dioxide (CO2), an epileptic patient boosted acid levels in the brain and could terminate a fit, although the molecular switch for achieving this was veiled in mystery. So if there is an oxygen overload of some kind could it cause neurological damage or just a moment of euphoria? I know there are places with actual oxygen bars where people go to purposefully inhale pure oxygen.

Further studies are in the works for finding the exact area of the brain which registers these balances and how to administer a drug which will stop the process and therefore stop a seizure. I wonder if this new research will also benefit people with autism. It will be interesting to see the correlations if there are any.

Labels: autism, epilepsy, neurology

Inspiring wellness news for you on this Friday morning.

John Schulz of Glastonbury, Connecticut will travel to Washington, D.C., on April 1, 2008, to meet with congressional leaders and gain their support for restoration of the Americans with Disabilities Act, support for epilepsy public health programs and more research toward a cure for epilepsy.

Obviously this is good news, but what makes this even more special is the fact that John Schulz has been named a new National Epilepsy Spokesperson and he is only 13 years old.

Schulz is one of 50 young people with epilepsy participating in Kids Speak Up!, a national program coordinated by the Epilepsy Foundation with support from Abbott. The program rallies young ambassadors with epilepsy between the ages of 7 and 16 to advocate for the more than 3 million Americans living with the condition. There will be a child under the age of 17 in each state who will be nationally recognized as a spokesperson for epilepsy. You can check at the foundation's website to find out who will be sponsoring your state. In my home state of Delaware, Peter Serwik of Middletown has been chosen. Congrats to all of you!

Epilepsy is the most common neurological condition in children and each year approximately 45,000 children under age 17 are diagnosed with the disorder.

Labels: epilepsy, neurology