28 2017 EDITION | SPECIAL PARENT
“When mitochondrial
interventions are started
early, improvements are often
more rapid and substantial.”
Dr. Suzanne Goh
Spectra a medical food, which is listed
in the National Drug Code and may
be eligible for insurance reimbursement. Though MitoSpectra is not FDA
approved, it is manufactured under
FDA compliance for the highest
purification and controlled quality.
With autism rates steadily rising
and risk factors, like pollutants and
pesticides, increasing in prevalence,
finding new ways to manage autism’s
physiological roots is of crucial importance.
“I think the next generation of
interventions will really target the
underlying causes of autism, which
may be throughout the body, not just
the brain,” Goh says. “In the past,
interventions have focused on how
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COURTESY OF PEDIATRIC NEUROLOGY THERAPEUTICS
help the mitochondria work properly
for optimal cell health.” The supplement is meant to serve as a backbone
therapy, making the child healthy
and connected enough to allow other
treatments to work.
Early research studies suggest that
a majority of children with autism
have mitochondrial dysfunction. Goh
notes that since there are many different ways mitochondria can be
impaired, and because autism affects
all children differently, there’s a wide
range of results.
“Some children will show an immediate and long-lasting benefit while
others will show a modest benefit and
some may show no improvement at
all,” she says.
“But for those whose symptoms are
caused in part by mitochondrial dysfunction, there can be important and
lasting benefits.”
Goh points to the importance of
starting MitoSpectra as early as possible, during a child’s critical years of
development.
“There seems to be a period in early
childhood when the brain is more
open to change,” Goh says. “When
mitochondrial interventions are
started early, improvements are often
more rapid and substantial. We feel
it’s extremely important for any child
who could benefit from this to have
access to it early enough for it to have
its maximum benefit.”
MitoMedical is working to create
broad awareness of the link between
autism and mitochondrial dysfunction and to educate physicians on
the importance of early testing for
mitochondrial dysfunction once a
child is diagnosed with autism. They
are also taking steps to make Mito-