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Showing posts with label Glutathione. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Glutathione. Show all posts

Monday 30 September 2013

Biomarkers in Autism: Mercury – Science, Bad Science & GSH (again)

You do not need to have any particular view about vaccines and autism; but there are some very strange connections between mercury and autism.

I came back to look at this subject, having noticed that one of the more rational/objective researchers included a chelating agent in his patent for autism treatment.   Chelating agents remove heavy metals like mercury or lead from the body, but they also remove important elements like calcium.  Very high or low levels of electrolytes like Ca or K can kill you.

In 2006 clinical trials on chelation therapy in autism were halted by the US National Institute of Health on “safety reasons”.  But in 2012, a much bigger 5 year long, $30 million study called Trial to Assess ChelationTherapy (TACT) in coronary heart disease reported back that this “fringe” therapy did indeed work, though for reasons unknown.


The autism trial was to use a chemical called DMSA,  while the coronary heart disease trial used a chemical called EDTA.  The 5 year trial appeared to show EDTA was safe.


Measuring Mercury

There are various ways of measuring for mercury; you can measure for it directly in urine, blood, hair and even teeth.  You can also measure for biomarkers of mercury and the popular one is called Porphyrin Testing.

The problem is that if you have been subject of some serious heavy metal contamination the metal may no longer be in your blood or urine in elevated levels.  This is why forensic science laboratories look at hair and teeth.

At this point the bad science and the science start to get mixed up.  There is a chemical called precoproporphyrin, an atypical porphyrin previously identified only in adult humans and animals with prolonged exposure to Mercury or compounds containing mercury.  It is often present in substantial concentrations in urine of younger children with autism.

This has created a nice business with laboratories charging $120 to measure porphyrin in the urine of autistic children.  A handful of researchers keep writing studies about mercury in autism, using porphyrin to “measure” them.

One of the labs used is surprisingly in France.  It seems many US citizens are mailing samples to Laboratoire Philippe Auguste in Paris.

But, at the same time, another group of scientists take the opposite approach and say that urinary porphyrins are biomarkers of autistic spectrum disorder, because a subset of people with ASD have disordered porphyrin excretion as a metabolic characteristic.  They have gone so far as to patent their idea as a test for autism.  By this logic paying $120 to test a kid known to have ASD would be pretty pointless.


The researcher suggests that the elevated Urinary porphyrins have nothing to do with mercury at all.


… Several possibilities might account for these differences. Not to be bound by theory, Hg exposure appears unlikely to play a role in this effect, because no significant differences were observed between NT and AUT subjects for indices of past exposure to Hg from dental or medical sources, as reported by parents/caregivers. Additionally, urinary Hg concentrations, measures of recent Hg exposure, were very low among all subjects in this study (Table 2), and no significant differences between diagnostic groups were observed …


… the present findings indicate that porphyrin metabolism, particularly in preadolescent children, may be too disordered or differently regulated to permit detection of the Hg-mediated changes in urinary porphyrin excretion that are apparent in adult subjects …


… another factor that may account for the differences in urinary porphyrin levels between AUT and NT children is mitochondrial dysfunction, a disorder commonly associated with autism …


Where is the Mercury coming from?

The sources put forward as to where the mercury is coming from include:-

·        Mother’s dental fillings containing mercury

·        Any amalgam fillings the child has

·        Mercury in the environment

·        Mercury in vaccines

If your body is unable remove mercury as fast as it is absorbing it, then the total amount of mercury in your body will increase.  So it is your cumulative past exposure, minus what you have removed, that is the key figure.

The body’s main antioxidant, glutathione (GSH), is its key resource to deal with disposing of heavy metals.  It has been established for years that GSH levels are reduced in almost all cases of autism.  Incidentally, GSH levels are also reduced in old age and so those subjects in the TACT clinical trial for chelation in heart disease that benefited, did do (according to Peter) because the chelator is an antioxidant.  It lowered their oxidative stress and raised their GSH level.


Mercury in Hair Samples

An interesting study measured the level of mercury in babies’ first haircuts.  This is about when the baby is 17 months old.

The study showed much lower levels of mercury in the ASD babies than in the control babies.  This is probably the opposite of what you might have expected.  There is also a nice chart correlating the level of mercury in the control babies with the number of amalgam fillings in the mother.


The authors proposed that the kids with ASD must have higher levels of mercury in their bodies, because they are unable to eliminate mercury like typical children.

“If reduced overall mercury elimination is related to hair elimination, then autistic infants will retain significantly higher levels of mercury in tissue, including the brain, than normal infants.”



  
A later study has some equally surprising findings.  The study in Poland, looked at kids aged 3-4 and also 7-9.  They found, as in the baby study, that the youngest kids had lower levels of mercury in their hair than the typical kids.  But the older kids had higher mercury levels in their hair than the kids in the control group. 


The conclusion was that:-
The results suggest that autistic children differ from healthy children in metabolism of mercury, which seems to change with age.

Mercury in baby teeth

 So now we come to teeth.  If the ASD kids have low mercury, it will be claimed that this means they must have high internal levels since they have not eliminated it in their teeth.  If they have high mercury then they will say that this proves there is a high level of mercury in kids with ASD.  Read on and find out.

Well the study tells us that baby teeth are a good measure of cumulative exposure to toxic metals during fetal development and early infancy.  They found that 6 year old children with autism had twice as much mercury in their teeth as neurotypical children.



This study determined the level of mercury, lead, and zinc in baby teeth of children with autism spectrum disorder (n = 15, age 6.1 +/- 2.2 yr) and typically developing children (n = 11, age = 7 +/- 1.7 yr). Children with autism had significantly (2.1-fold) higher levels of mercury but similar levels of lead and similar levels of zinc. Children with autism also had significantly higher usage of oral antibiotics during their first 12 mo of life, and possibly higher usage of oral antibiotics during their first 36 mo of life. Baby teeth are a good measure of cumulative exposure to toxic metals during fetal development and early infancy, so this study suggests that children with autism had a higher body burden of mercury during fetal/infant development. Antibiotic use is known to almost completely inhibit excretion of mercury in rats due to alteration of gut flora. Thus, higher use of oral antibiotics in the children with autism may have reduced their ability to excrete mercury, and hence may partially explain the higher level in baby teeth. Higher usage of oral antibiotics in infancy may also partially explain the high incidence of chronic gastrointestinal problems in individuals with autism.


How much Mercury is bad for you?

Mercury is definitely not good for you, but just how much is actually bad for you?

Eating a lot of fish will raise maternal levels of mercury, so in the US women are advised to eat less fish during pregnancy.

In the Seychelles (islands in the Indian Ocean) the diet included 10 times as much fish and since they eat big fish, mercury consumption is 20 times higher.  The level of vaccination was near 100% and the vaccines contained thimerosal.



Using linear and nonlinear regression analyses, the researchers found no consistent correlation between prenatal exposure to methyl mercury and scores on ASD screening instruments.

Parent feedback

If you look on the web, it is pretty clear that many parents think their chelation therapy had a positive impact.  There is even a very unscientific survey showing this somewhere; I cannot find it today.


Since the chelation is like a big anti-oxidant infusion, I would expect to see a big positive improvement, regardless of whether mercury has anything at all to do with it.

Big Sceptics

There are some big sceptics about chelation.  Here is one site called chelation watch
and here is an interesting article by a Doctor who followed ”his dark side” into the world of alternative therapy and emerged a big sceptic.

James R. Laidler, MD    -  My Involvement with Autism Quackery

My personal journey through the looking glass has ended. I stepped into “alternative” medicine up to my neck and waded out again, poorer but wiser. I now realize that the thing the “alternative” practitioners are really selling is hope—usually false hope—and hope is a very seductive thing to those who have lost it.

Other research

There is plenty of other research on the subject of my post.  Normally you can tell by who funded the study or who worked on it, what the likely conclusion is to be.



This paper again shows that urinary porphyrins are a biomarker for autism, rather than mercury.


This paper repeats the story about urinary porphyrins indicating high mercury in autism  



Conclusion

If the US National Institute of Health removed its ban on the clinical trial of chelation in autism, then there would be some high quality facts to judge.  Sadly, this all seems to be linked to “big brother” trying to halt the debate about autism and vaccinations, all for the very sound reason of public health.

I think it is quite possible that the culprit is oxidative stress and low GSH and that the bizarre results of mercury levels in hair, teeth and urine are in fact no more than a consequence of low levels of GSH.  The oxidative stress is clearly damaging, perhaps the slightly elevated levels of heavy metals are themselves harmless.

Perhaps the best thing would be to measure the level of GSH (GSH redox) in babies, children and then again after middle age.  High levels of oxidative stress, whether linked to autism or other conditions could then be treated.

There is a cheap and effective antioxidant called NAC (N-acetyl cysteine), it is known to raise GSH.  If you want to call it a chelating agent, you would also be correct.

Since mercury is known to be a very harmful substance, we should of course try to minimize it in humans.


Thursday 11 July 2013

Long Term Mood Improvement using NAC in Autism

A more recent post on this subject is here:
http://epiphanyasd.blogspot.com/2014/08/nac-for-long-term-use-in-autism.html




NAC (N-Acetyl Cysteine) is an anti-oxidant that is part of the autism therapy I have implemented.  I have now received feedback from other parents who are also surprised by the positive effect it has on their child with autism.  So far, it has had a positive impact in 100% of cases.

In the literature, there are several schools of thought as to why NAC is effective. 
  1. As a free radical scavenger in its own right
  2. As a precursor to Glutathione (GSH)
  3. As a glutamate antagonist
  4. Reducing homocysteine
Glutamate is one of the brain's two most important neurotransmitters, the other being GABA.  Glutamate is excitatory and so too much of it would cause you a problem.  NAC can act as an antagonist to glumate.  This is all very nicely explained by Emily Deans, a psychiatrist in Massachusetts who has a very interesting blog of her own.
In my research into the autism comorbidity asthma, I also came across plenty of talk about oxidative stress and anti-oxidants.  NAC is used, but it seems like they are looking for something stronger.

The main impact is as a precursor to Glutathione (GSH)

I recently learnt that in autism (or at least the one my son is affected by) the reason is without doubt number two.  The other roles (scavenger/antagonist) are irrelevant.

The reason I know this, is that after a few months NAC effectively stopped working.  This coincided with an asthma flare-up.  Now, I initially thought that the asthma attacks had released inflammatory cytokines and that these had stimulated the ever-present neuro-inflammation in the brain.

This is highly plausible and indeed I have literature showing which cytokines are released by asthma attacks.  So I thought that by firmly dealing with the asthma, I would at the same time subdue the autism.  This did not happen.

So after a few days I came up with "plan B", which did prove to be successful.  I hypothesised that the NAC had stopped working because I was not giving enough vitamin B12, which is part of the chemical process in which GSH is synthesised from NAC.  I have no means of knowing how much is needed exactly. In related processes both vitamin B6 and B9 are also involved.

I increased the B vitamins and within hours things began to revert towards the previous behavioural equilibrium.

So it was most likely the failure of NAC to produce GSH, and thus reduce oxidative stress, that had sparked the asthma flare-up. (this is will be covered on my later post of asthma as a comorbidity in autism)

But how much B12 is needed to synthesise GSH?

In your diet you have vitamins B6, B9 and B12, but it is unclear how much is needed to synthesise GSH.  A further complication is that B vitamins are not well absorbed in the gut, and some people absorb them better than others.  Older people are known to absorb B12 poorly.  There are expensive sub lingual B vitamin supplements, but there is no evidence that they actually work better.

There are at least two NAC products targeted at older people to protect them from memory loss and Alzheimer's disease:-


 Both products combine NAC with vitamins B6, B9 and B12,

                                             Over the counter NAC        Cerefolin NAC        Betrinac


N-acetylcysteine (NAC)              600mg                            600mg                     600mg
Vitamin B9 (folate)                                                          1,000 mcg               800 mcg
Vitamin B6                                                                           25mg                       20mg
Vitamin B12                                                                    1,000mcg                1,000mcg



 Both products are for preventing memory loss, rather than just increasing GSH.


For a comprehensive look into B vitamins including their role in the brain, and how they are (or are not) absorbed, take a look at this link from the US Office of Dietary Supplements.


Reducing homocysteine

Homocysteine is linked with strokes, and particularly in the US there are doctors who use NAC for the purpose of lowering homocysteine.

Dr. Baum, medical director of the Mind/Body Medical Institute, a Harvard affiliate, recommends 1,000 micrograms (mcg) of folate, plus 25 milligrams (mg) of vitamin B6, 1,000 mcg of B12, and 1,800 mg of the amino acid N-acetyl-cysteine (NAC). "With folate, B6, B12, and NAC supplements, almost everyone will have normal homocysteine levels," says Dr. Baum.

There is even a discussion about the role of homocysteine in autism.  A very recent paper from Poland is: A focus on homocysteine in autism

I think think that high homocysteine, just like low GSH, is a marker of oxidative stress.  In some of the literature it is stated that homocysteine cause oxidative stress.

Here is another paper: Metabolic biomarkers of increased oxidative stress and impaired methylation capacity in children with autism






 
And yet another one:-




 

If you read all the papers you will come across various graphics showing biological cycles within the body, like the one below.  This is how I know that the various B vitamins are needed.







Vitamin B12 Therapy

I really just need to know how much B12 is needed and how to give it.  In the end the best resource turned out to be a  bulletin from a US medical insurer, and here it is:-

Clinical Policy Bulletin:  Vitamin B-12 Therapy

The document is very thorough; here are some key parts:-


Background

Vitamin B-12 belongs to the family of cobalamins. It is available in all animal-derived foods, and is absorbed at a rate of 5 mcg per day. After being ingested, vitamin B-12 becomes bound to intrinsic factor, a protein secreted by gastric parietal cells. The vitamin B-12/intrinsic factor complex is absorbed in the terminal ileum by cells with specific receptors for the complex. The absorbed complex is then transported via plasma and stored in the liver. Since the liver stores 2,000 to 5,000 mcg vitamin B-12 (adequate for up to 5 years), dietary deficiency of cobalamin (Cbl) is rare. In most cases, vitamin B-12 deficiency is due to an inability of the intestine to absorb the vitamin, which may result from an autoimmune disease that reduces the production or blocks the action of intrinsic factor, or from other diseases that result in intestinal malabsorption. The most frequent underlying cause of vitamin B-12 deficiency is pernicious anemia, which is associated with decreased production of intrinsic factor.


In a systematic review of randomized trials on vitamin B-6, B-12, and folic acid supplementation and cognitive function, Balk and colleagues (2007) stated that despite their important role in cognitive function, the value of B vitamin supplementation is unknown. A total of 14 trials met selection criteria; most were of low quality and limited applicability. Approximately 50 different cognitive function tests were assessed. Three trials of vitamin B-6 and 6 of vitamin B-12 found no effect overall in a variety of doses, routes of administration, and populations. One of 3 trials of folic acid found a benefit in cognitive function in people with cognitive impairment and low baseline serum folate levels. Six trials of combinations of the B vitamins all concluded that the interventions had no effect on cognitive function. Among 3 trials, those in the placebo arm had greater improvements in a small number of cognitive tests than participants receiving either folic acid or combination B-vitamin supplements. The evidence was limited by a sparsity of studies, small sample size, heterogeneity in outcomes, and a lack of studies that evaluated symptoms or clinical outcomes. The authors concluded that there is insufficient evidence of an effect of vitamin B-6, B-12, or folic acid supplementation, alone or in combination, on cognitive function testing in people with either normal or impaired cognitive function. This is in agreement with Clarke et al (2007) who stated that randomized trials are needed to ascertain the relevance of vitamin B-12 supplementation for the prevention of dementia.

Vitamin B-12 therapy can be administered orally or by injection. Vitamin B12 tablets of up to 5,000 mcg may be obtained over the counter without a prescription.

In a review on vitamin B-12 deficiency, Oh and Brown (2003) noted that, because most clinicians are generally unaware that oral vitamin B-12 therapy is effective, the traditional treatment for B-12 deficiency has been intramuscular injections. The authors cited evidence that demonstrates, however, that oral vitamin B-12 has been shown to have an efficacy equal to that of injections in the treatment of pernicious anemia and other B-12 deficiency states (Elia, 1998; Lederle, 1998; Kuzminski et al, 1998; Lederle, 1991). The authors explained that, although the majority of dietary vitamin B-12 is absorbed in the terminal ileum through a complex with intrinsic factor, there is mounting evidence that approximately 1 % of a large dose of oral vitamin B-12 is absorbed by simple diffusion which is independent of intrinsic factor or even an intact terminal ileum.
Kuzminzki et al (1998) reported on the outcome of 33 patients with vitamin B-12 deficiency who were randomized to receive oral or parenteral vitamin B-12 therapy. Patients in the parenteral therapy group received 1,000 mcg of vitamin B-12 intramuscularly on days 1, 3, 7, 10, 14, 21, 30, 60, and 90, while those in the oral treatment group received 2,000 mcg daily for 120 days. At the end of 120 days, patients who received oral therapy had significantly higher serum vitamin B-12 levels and lower methylmalonic acid levels than those in the parenteral therapy group.

 On treating B12 deficiency :-

Although the daily requirement of vitamin B-12 is approximately 2 mcg, the initial oral replacement dosage consists of a single daily dose of 1,000 to 2,000 mcg (Lederle, 1991; Oh and Brown, 2003). This high dose is required because of the variable absorption of oral vitamin B-12 in doses of 500 mcg or less. This regimen has been shown to be safe, cost-effective, and well tolerated by patients.


CONCLUSION


Long term high dose NAC will require careful supplementation with B vitamins.   If NAC is using up vitamin B12 faster than your child is absorbing it from food and supplements, B12 will be used up from the liver and other vitamin stores in the body.  These stores will eventually be depleted and vitamin B12 deficiency will result, if you continue to give NAC.  This is best avoided.

If money is of no concern, best to buy Cerefolin NAC or Betrinac.  If on a budget, then use the cheap NAC available on-line or in your pharmacy; but be careful to supplement far higher amounts of B6, B9 and B12 than the RDA (recommended daily amount).

Cerefolin NAC and  Betrinac have 400 times the RDA of B12, 4 times the RDA of B9 and 15 times of B6.  But each of these tablets only has 600mg of NAC.  In the autism trials the dose of NAC is 4 times higher.

It is evident that B12 is the key vitamin that acts as a precursor with NAC to form GSH (Glutathione), so this is the one to keep a close eye on should your child's NAC appear "to stop working".

It looks like 1,000 mcg of B12, of which 1% may be absorbed, is a fair place to start.  Such supplements are relatively inexpensive, and widely available.



 

Saturday 30 March 2013

NICE Brits 281 and Californian Quacks 305?

I have to thank Paul Whitely  for a post on his website that I am hijacking today.  Click on Paul’s name to go to his blog.

National Institute for Health & Care Excellence (NICE)
NICE is an organisation in the UK, funded by the Department of Health.  They produce excellent guidelines on  most medical conditions for both doctors and patients.  They are all available free on line.

NICE & Autism
NICE are producing a guideline called:-  

Autism, The management and support of children and young people on the autism spectrum.  The guideline is still in the draft stage, but there are two versions:-
Full version (790 pages) 
Summary (40 pages)

You may wonder who on earth is going to read a 790 page document.  The 40 page document does not say a lot, you could summarize it as folows:-
  •  Carers (parents) are unsupported, miserable and financially strained
  • Children should have access to care and therapy, that does not currently exist
  • Local autism teams should have the skills to provide, or organize, the interventions and care recommended in this guideline, but they currently do not have these skills.
  • No magic cure exists
 


The NICE list of Dos and Don’ts  (Mainly Don’ts)

DO NOT:-

Do not use the following interventions for the management of core features of autism in children and young people: 

·         antipsychotics
·         antidepressants
·         anticonvulsants
·         exclusion diets (such as gluten- or casein-free diets)  -  sorry Paul

Do not use omega-3 fatty acids to manage sleep problems in children and young people with autism.

Do not use auditory integration training

Do not use the following interventions for children and young people with autism in any context:  
·         secretin
·         chelation
·         hyperbaric oxygen therapy 

DO:-

Consider a social-communication intervention for the management of the core features of autism in children and young people. For pre-school children consider delivering the intervention with parent, carer or teacher mediation. For school-aged children consider delivering the intervention with peer mediation.

Consider the following for children and young people with autism and anxiety who have the verbal and cognitive ability to engage in a cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) intervention:  

·         group CBT adjusted to the needs of children and young people with autism
·         individual CBT for children and young people who find group-based activities difficult.  

For behavior that challenges, try antipsychotic medication.

  
The 790 page version  -   NICE Brits 281 and Californian Quacks 305
I was rather disappointed by the 40 page version of NICE, so I opened up the 790 page version.  I recommend you do too.  It is totally different.  Some people have spent many 1000’s of hours analysing all the scientific literature on a wide range of biological, social, psychological and educational aspects of autism.

The problem was on page 281.  This is the page where those clever guys over at Stanford 94305, get their research into Glutathione (GSH) mentioned. (94305 is their zip code) 

Then on pages 389/390 NICE give their verdict on the Stanford guys' findings.  They conclude that while NAC does nothing bad, it also did nothing good.



 


Now, I am no medical genius, but nor am I a complete moron. I read the full Stanford research paper as a highly sceptical, but informed, parent. I concluded, as did the Stanford team, that they had found something very important. To get the full report you have to pay $31.50 but I figured it was well worth it. So if this excellent research just gets sliced and diced, and then trashed, in this 790 page review, how much faith do I have in the other 787 pages?

I am with those Quacky Californians on this one.  Those NICE Brits can call me a quack too.


Friday 29 March 2013

Always Show your Workings? More about Glutathione (GSH)

It may be a long time since you were in school, but you will most likely remember the maths teacher kept telling you to show your working.  The idea was that you might have got the method right, but got the wrong final answer; at least you could get half a mark.

I just asked Ted (aged 12) what happens these day at school if you get the right answer, but the workings were wrong.  Ted debated this with friend, whilst continuing to play a video game together.  The conclusion was that if the answer was right, but the working was wrong, you would not get full marks. 

In the field of autism this seems to be a recurring scenario (right answer, but wrong workings).  Somebody finds a therapy that appears to work, and produces some scientific justification, but then along come other clever people and use science to tear apart the proposed justification (or workings).

Yesterday while adding tags to this blog, I came across a blog with a delighted parent, who had noticed a dramatic reduction in autistic behaviours in her child.  I paid attention because it mentioned the word Glutathione.  The post went on about the child having low levels of Glutathione (GSH), because of “unregulation of CBS(++)”,  and the Yasko genetic panel.  What is all that about, I wondered.

Using Google I quickly found two avenues to pursue, in no time at all:-

  • A very fancy website with colour charts, fancy names like "Neurological Research Institute",  Genetic Profiling Systems,  and "A guide to nutrigenomic testing".  Then alarm bells started to ring; a Dr Amy Yasko of Holistic Health International, who can sell you nutrigenomic testing for just $495.
  • A very basic website,  with a paper called “CBS Upregulation, Myth or Reality". This paper by Mark London, from MIT, seems dedicated to refuting the “science” put forward by Dr Yasko.  London concludes:-  
“Thus, while some of the aspects of Dr. Yasko’s treatment plan may have usefulness, there is no support that CBS upregulation can have any negative effects.”
 
Then I find quickly in blogs, that people are wondering just who is this Mark London and what interest has he got? Maybe he does not like Dr Yasko?  It turns out that after the $495 nutrigenomic testing, you then have to buy something called the “Ammonia support supplement”.  I checked her site and just 24ml will set you back $85, it say that is enough for 48 servings and you need 3 servings a day. So that about $5.30 a day or nearly $2,000 a year.

It looks like Mr London thinks that’s a lot of money to pay, without showing the correct working.

I have raised my son’s Glutathione (GSH) and it cost me 20 cents a day or $73 a year.  I am with Mark on this one.

 



 

Tuesday 26 March 2013

Glutathione (GSH) Part III - Say Goodbye to Obsessive Behaviours


Stereotypy is a word you may never have used, but it is there in the dictionary.  In the world of autism, they made up their own word for it; “stimming”.  Stimming does not appear in the Oxford English dictionary, but here is a nice definition from Urban-dictionary.
Stim, stims or stimming is short for "self-stimulation". Almost everyone does it (tapping feet, cracking knuckles, twiddling thumbs), but in autistic people these behaviours are more pronounced and may seem downright strange.

Stimming is an obsessive behaviour that can get in the way of doing anything else.  If you are wiggling your fingers 10 cm in front of your eyes, not surprisingly, you are lost to the outside world.

But there are plenty of other obsessions; here is an eclectic mix:-

·         Tearing up papers into tiny pieces

·         Jumping, rocking, trampolining

·         Roller coasters

·         Thomas the Tank Engine

·         Watching the same part of a cartoon over and over again

·         Going to the theatre

·         Eating a Big Mac every day for lunch

·         Always following the same route, walking to the park

Using behavioural techniques from ABA, you can go a long way to managing, and then dramatically reducing, these obsessive behaviours.

Now, thanks to some science, it seems that these obsessions can finally be got fully under control.

By implementing a program to increase GSH using NAC, the science of which was outlined in Glutathione (GSH) Part II -N-Acetylcysteine (NAC), we have witnessed a near immediate cessation of uncontrollable obsessive behaviours.  The obsessions remain, but they are now firmly under self-control.