Do Antibiotics Causes Autism?
In a claim that may cause more panic than both the Thimerosal / mercury and MMR scares combined, Dr Joan Fallon published a study claiming a common antibiotic could be the cause. Studying of 206 autistic children with detailed medical records, Dr Fallon notice the large number of case of Otitis media (also known as glue ear). On average the children had ten cases of glue ear each and where generally treated by antibiotics, often by Augmentin (also know as Co-amoxiclav).
Before anyone panics about this it is worth bearing in mind that this is very flimsy evidence and much more work needs to be done. It should also be noted that the study Could one of the most widely prescribed antibiotics amoxicillin/clavulanate “augmentin™” be a risk factor for autism? appeared in the journal Medical Hypotheses. This is not a peer-reviewed journal and the journal describes itself thus: "Most contemporary practice tends to discriminate against radical ideas that conflict with current theory and practice. Medical Hypotheses will publish radical ideas, so long as they are coherent and clearly expressed".
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November 1st, 2005
Autism
Comments on: Do Antibiotics Causes Autism?
Another aspect of the paper is that what some believe are co-morbidities of autism are in fact the cause of autism in some cases, namely gastrointestinal issues that result from use of Augmentin.
Thanks for the info on Medical Hypotheses, I was wondering what type of review, etc. they have.
Posted by: Brett November 1st, 2005 at 8:18 pm
The interlinked issues of co-morbidities, symptoms and causes of autism are very complex. To my mind nothing has been proven to be the cause autism. Certain conditions are very strongly linked to with autism such as gastrointestinal problems but cause and effect has not been established.
Posted by: Chris Tregenza November 2nd, 2005 at 8:10 am
Medical Hypotheses are just that, and do not claim to be more than that. However it is important to remember that autism is a complex problem, which appears to have a genetic base.
Having received thousands of emails and calls etc. about regression after the use of Augmentin after the paper was published makes it clear that a study needs to be done.
Posted by: Joan Fallon December 7th, 2005 at 4:00 pm
Thanks for the comment Joan. You receive the distinction of the being the first author of a paper to comment on its coverage on Myomancy.
Do you know if there will be a full study on Augmentin?
Posted by: Chris Tregenza December 7th, 2005 at 4:33 pm
There appears to be significant interest in Europe, as I have received many calls especially from the UK, about the regressive symptoms of autism after Augmentin use.
I will keep you posted
Posted by: Joan Fallon December 22nd, 2005 at 2:06 am
After reading the Time article, “New Insights Into the Hidden World of Autism” on May 15, 2006, my 17 year old son commented that my theory that Autism was triggered by antibiotic use might be valid. He felt the enlarged areas of the brain could be due to anitbiotic use; comparing it to giving cattle antibiotics to increase growth. I’m wondering if there is any work being done to further pursue the antibiotic link?
Posted by: Jyl Coats May 13th, 2006 at 2:07 am
My son was high functioning pdd-nos and regressed to the level of moderately autistic at the age of 4 years AFTER THE USE OF AUGMENTIN to treat an ear infection- we have ruled out all medical causes with an MRI, genetic testing, blood testing, and even a 48-hour EEG - all were normal. All specialists have said that they don’t understand why this happened and that this form of regression at this age is unheard of– I believe it was the antibiotic that caused it.
Posted by: Teresa Taylor July 18th, 2006 at 9:27 pm
Teresa - I’m very sorry to hear about your son and it sounds like a very strange case.
Most, if not all, experts would say its impossible for an antibiotic to have such an effect. Though experts do get it wrong sometimes.
However, it is very easy for parents to fall for the ‘Post hoc ergo propter hoc’ trap [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post_hoc ]. Just because event Y happened after event X does not mean that X caused Y. Just because your son took antibiotics and then got ill does not mean the antibiotics caused the illness.
Best of luck with your son.
Chris
Posted by: Chris Tregenza July 20th, 2006 at 2:35 pm
I am a mother of a 5 year old son that has been through the ringer with tests. He was diagnosed with dysphasia when he was a little older than 3. He is very high functioning and is said to have Autistic tendencies. He does have a speech and language comprehension disorder. Whether it was the trauma at birth or antibiotics due to ear infections that caused his disorder we might never know. But as a parent of a child with the frustrations and complications of social skills I feel like I want to know every possibility. My son did have a severe allergic reaction to Augmenton before he was 3. He was so disoriented and physically affected by this drug (which took 3-4 days for these bad reactions to show up) that I can see why it would be in question. Could this not be a possibility? He has improved greatly with therapy but as every mother wants for their child is to have some sort of normality in their lives. So we read and research for any new ideas of therapy and unanswered questions from the medical field. It’s hard and we need answers to care for our children. We don’t want to blame we just want to heal our kids.
Kathy
Posted by: Kathy November 12th, 2006 at 12:48 pm
My daughter is 2.5years old. Over the last year we have noticed a gradual regression with being able to say her name, not looking us in the eye, not answering direct questions, not following some simple directions, an obvious delay in language and conversation abilities and much more. I have become very concerned that the last immunizations she received were given at 20 months, due to the fact that we were running behind she was given 4 shots, 2 of them being the mmr and the chicken pox, I have read that the two should not be given together. This was in december of 2005. Wondering if this has something to do with her problems. Seems like shortly after the shots, the gradual regression began. any thoughts??Thank you……….
Posted by: Brenda January 18th, 2007 at 9:34 pm
I would just like to comment that although there seem to be a lot of radical ideas out there about the origin of autism and where it came from, we must remember to bo open-minded, yet grounded, about all of these explanations. As a mother of a 5-year old living with autism, I am not prepared to rule out any hypotheses and get very preturbed when others are quick to sarcastically discredit we could very well be a lead. I think parents who feel passionate about finding out what happened are the real scientists in this matter. Not only do we have a wealth of information at our fingertips, but we have the compassion and the conviction that is needed to break through the rigidity of the scientific structure. Do not mistake my words as a discredit to the scientific community of the purposefulness of the scientific method. I do believe it is vitally important to embrace the scientific method so we don’t produce radical theories with no basis for evidence. However, I think it’s important to entertain a theory long enough to think outside of the box.
Posted by: Nikki Farrow June 14th, 2007 at 5:48 am
After years of suffering from sinus trouble, I started to believe that the cure was the cause. Then I started to believe that antibiotics had caused my sons autism. I pose a question? Is it possible that an overgrowth of yeast in my body was passed to my son in birth and that he was born with an overgrowth of yeast which caused him to have an ear infection at one month? Also could his repeated antibiotics increased the severity of his autism? My son had a serious allergic reaction to Clavulin at 4 years and after this, that group of drugs were never used on him again. Around 5 years old we noticed progress in his therapy. Query: Is it possible that this was the key to him being high functioning autistic child.
Posted by: Patti September 4th, 2007 at 11:57 pm
Hi Patti. I just read your blog and your story sounds very similar to mine. I have a son who is 3.5 yrs. old and is on the spectrum. I also was on anitbiotics during delivery and then after he was born. He had thrush which resulted from yeast overgrowth. He also was put on a series of antibiotics for a skin infection at age 7 months. Do you feel that antibiotics has something to do with autism? By the way did your son have delayed speech?
Posted by: linda May 10th, 2008 at 3:20 am
I am becoming more and more convinced that anitibiotics are possibly the cause of autistic children. My child just turned 3 yrs old and is on the spectrum. He was developing great as a child and somewhere between 1yrs and 2yrs old, he stopped talking, had no eye contact, had repetitive tendancys. My son has chronic ear infections for almost a year. He was treated with antibiotics like augmentin and amoxicillan repeatedly throughout that year. They finally referred him to a specialist for tubes. As mothers, I think we know our children best and I dont believe that science and doctors are always right, they are still human. I believe that some vaccines and anitibiotics in large amounts are toxic to our children. Why is autism so common now? We have to ask ourselves these questions. Something needs to be done and I am determined to heal my son and find answers.
Posted by: Heidi August 4th, 2008 at 4:39 pm
I want to say a few words to you all on the subject of whether augmentin and autism are related, Seven years ago I had a son who was born by emergency cesarean section one month early on the day of 8th December, this came about after a visit to ante natal and coming home with a prescription for augmentin, I had a placental separation after taking one of these within one hour and a half, this resulted in the c/section of my son. From the day he was born, I could see the difference in him from my other three sons. On Monday of this week after seven and a half years my fears were confirmed, Kyle was diagnosed as having Asperger Syndrome, at the Scottish Centre for Autism.
Posted by: Angela Wood August 7th, 2008 at 10:21 pm
I see that Dr. Joan Fallon, a Chiroprator in Yonkers, New York is once again making claims that are not even in her scope of practice.
I worked along side her in a Practice on Pelhamdale Avenue in New Rochelle, NY where she even had nurses inject children who were autistic with Secretin.
Dr. Joan Fallon now practices at 1234 Central Park Avenue in Yonkers, New York.
Posted by: Martha August 25th, 2008 at 12:33 am
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