Desperate people will do desperate things. And parents of autistic children are desperate. Conditions with no cure, such as autism, are fertile ground for charlatans who aim to capitalize financially on the despair of parents willing to do anything to help their children. Some hucksters offer a simple treatment for autism that they claim is being swept under the carpet by an evil pharmaceutical industry in collusion with the government. Labelling themselves as 鈥渉ealth freedom warriors,鈥� they are ready to reveal the secret of curing autism. All that distressed parents have to do is purchase 鈥淢iracle Mineral Solution (MMS).鈥� This 鈥渕iracle鈥� comes in the form of two small bottles, one containing a 28% sodium chlorite solution, the other filled with an acidic 鈥渁ctivator鈥� that can be vinegar, citric acid or hydrochloric acid.
Combining the contents of the bottles produces a solution of chlorine dioxide (ClO2), a strong oxidizing agent. Oxidizers steal electrons from molecules, and since electrons are the 鈥済lue鈥� that hold atoms together in molecules, oxidizing agents have a potent destructive effect be it on the DNA of bacterial cells or on molecules responsible for colour. That is why chlorine dioxide can be used to disinfect water or bleach pulp. But molecular destruction in the body is not welcome.
Numbers are the currency of science. So, let鈥檚 look at numbers. When used to disinfect water, the maximum residual of chlorine dioxide allowed is 0.8 parts per million. Following mixing instructions that come with MMS, the concentration of chlorine dioxide in the drops that are swallowed would be at least 25 times greater! At this concentration, chlorine dioxide denatures enzymes and oxidizes proteins and fats. That can cause injury to the gastrointestinal tract and lead to the expelling of damaged pieces of intestinal lining. But promoters of MMS claim that these are actually the 鈥減arasites鈥� that cause autism and are now being flushed from the body. Even if parasites were a cause, it would be impossible for chlorine dioxide to reach them without destroying human cells first. The con artists also claim that MMS destroys bacteria and viruses that they also implicate as factors in causing autism. There is no evidence whatsoever that the affliction is caused by parasites, bacteria or viruses.
Chlorine dioxide in the blood can also oxidize hemoglobin resulting in methemoglobinemia, a condition whereby the blood is unable to deliver oxygen to tissues effectively. Diarrhea, respiratory problems and liver damage have also been reported with the use of MMS. Basically, at 25 ppm, chlorine dioxide is not a cure for anything, it is a poison.
While MMS is snake oil, and there is no cure for autism, there is pharmaceutical help available. Risperidone and aripiprazole are antipsychotic medications approved for the treatment of aggression, tantrums and irritability associated with autism. These medications can help restore the balance of dopamine and serotonin, brain chemicals that are out of kilter in autism. Physicians can also prescribe drugs 鈥渙ff-label鈥� such as Ritalin to manage Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) or Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors like Prozac to treat anxiety, depression and repetitive behaviour. Seizures that sometimes occur in autism can be controlled with anticonvulsants such as sodium valproate.
Then there is leucovorin, a medication that has been hyped by U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as a treatment for autism. There is some evidence that it can help with a condition known as 鈥渃erebral folate deficiency (CFD)鈥� that has some features of autism like developmental delays, seizures and challenges with social communication. Leucovorin does not treat autism per se, but rather the underlying cerebral folate deficiency that may co-occur. The diagnosis of CFD is not simple, it can only be confirmed by measuring low levels of the active form of folate in the cerebrospinal fluid via lumbar puncture.
The pushers of MMS for autism, or indeed for anything else, are not championing 鈥渉ealth freedom鈥� as they claim. They are quacks handsomely profiting from repackaging a cheap, potentially dangerous industrial bleaching agent that they shamelessly promote as a cure for an incurable disease. They are criminals.
