Are there any nutrients that help DMG work more effectively?
Carnitine, CoQ10, lipoic acid, B vitamins, and magnesium all increase the effectiveness of DMG.
Autism
Reports show that DMG can lengthen the attention spans in autistic children. It can brighten their moods, reduce their tantrums, and their obsessive-compulsive behavior. In several instances, children began speaking overnight.3
Immune Function
Studies show that DMG quadrupled the immune responses of people who took 120 mg daily for ten weeks. Researchers concluded that DMG strengthens the body’s defenses on a cellular and hormonal level, as well as uses oxygen more efficiently.3
Athletic Endurance
Researchers showed that pangamic acid improved athletic endurance by preventing a buildup of lactic acid in the body.3
Seizure Frequency
According to case reports, the number of seizures dropped significantly when people with epilepsy took 180 mg of DMG daily.3
The Autism-Seizure Connection
Autism Research Review International, Volume 9, Number 4,1995, Page 3. Bernard Rimland, Ph.D.
Nutritional treatments for seizures. In ARRI 8/1 we summarized a study comparing high dose vitamin B6 with steroids, the conventional treatment for seizures in infants. The researchers used 300 mg of B6 per kilogram of body weight per day, which is about 18 times as much as we, and Dr. Le Lord’s group in France, find to be optimal for autism. B6 proved better, and is certainly safer, than the steroids. A large-scale follow-up was planned. I wrote to Dr. Pietz to suggest that magnesium be used along with the B6 in their forthcoming study, since, at least in the case of autism, eight controlled studies had shown the B6 with magnesium to be more effective than B6 alone. I was disappointed to learn from Dr. Pietz that his follow-up study had been sidetracked. It seems that the German and U.S. medical establishments share the view: "Drugs, yes; Vitamins, no."
Another very safe nutrient with anti-seizure activity is dimethylglycine (DMG) (ARRI 4/2). A report in the New England Journal of Medicine (October, 1982) described a 22-year-old mentally retarded man who had 16 to 18 seizures per week on- standard anti-convulsants. He experienced only three seizures per week on the DMG. Two attempts to remove the DMG dramatically increased his seizures.
In ARRI 7/1, we published a letter concerning a 41-year-old man with Fragile X syndrome who had been hospitalized with back-to-back seizures that anti-convulsant drugs could not control. At the insistence of his sister, he was placed on DMG. three weeks after the DMG was started, he had not experienced a single seizure!
It is at least possible that the often remarkable effectiveness of vitamin B6 and magnesium, and DMG, in the treatment of autism is a result of their anti-convulsive effect. 'Me topic cries out for research investigation, but that will probably' never happen, because B6 and magnesium, as well as DMG, are natural substances, and are therefore not patentable or profitable. Research funding seems plentiful only for drugs.
Food-caused autism/seizures. Over-reliance on drugs has also led to the neglect of another exceedingly promising approach to seizure control. In an important but conveniently overlooked series of controlled studies (The Lancet, March 9, 1985; Journal of Pediatrics, January 1989), J. Eggers and him, colleagues demonstrated that an
“Oligoantigenic" (few foods) diet brought about significant improvement in 62 of 76 hyperactive boys, with notable improvement in other symptoms, such as headaches, seizures, and abdominal pain. The follow-up study of 63 children with epilepsy also produced excellent results, with the recurrence of symptoms once the offending foods were returned to the children's diet.
It is becoming increasingly clear that abnormal electrical activity in the brain, manifested as sub-clinical seizures, may be playing a major role in many cases of autism. How many? And how many of these cases can be reversed by proper treatment? We don't know. But, as new studies and information become available, ARRI will keep readers updated on this important issue.
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