49 replies to this topic

[#1hit]

I recently have learned that I can be counted among those who have aspergers, and was wondering if there are any nootropic stacks that combat the weak side of aspergers. Primarily, I struggle most with working memory... I rarely remember what I'm doing, and what I have to do next after I'm done doing it, let alone being able to keep track of everything involved in a task.

I started playing the brain exercise game dual n back to bolster my working memory, and have started trying to conciously use it, but it puts a lot of strain on my brain.

What can I do about this?

[caruga]

I deeply don't want to spike your hopes when it could be a completely different reason for your symptoms, but I have been curing it with NAC and rehydration, and possibly because of detoxification but maybe due to other activities of NAC. And I mean curing it, I am a different person. A lot of it is down to several years of intense introspection that allows me to rip out very unhelpful background premises in my thinking that inform my social behaviour, but the NAC has allowed that introspection to finally, really, pay off because of the inconsistent but sometimes massive deficiency in working memory and attention.

I'd first bear in mind that Aspergers is a label, not an explanation: i.e. all it means is you have a certain inventory of symptoms. I strongly theorize mine to either be caused by an inborn weakener immune system or inadequate metabolism of certain chemicals caused by poisoning, or the reverse: poisoning occuring because of the already weakener immune system. Or both in a circle. It needn't even be a dramatically weaker immune system, just enough to make a difference over time. I also am very strongly suspicious that my chronic fatigue which started at 14, and aspergers, have the exact same root cause, be it what I just described or something else entirely.

I believe if the body is poisoned in a slowly eroding, year-after-year accumulating manner it will make sacrifices where it has a choice. In my case it was definitely my working memory, as I've recently realised. I think there may be more of us that have this problem but different sacrifices are made in different parts of the brain. Or it could not be what the body does but where the poison decants itself. Either way, it could manifest itself in various abnormalities and not everyone winds up with aspergers, but something else, but the root cause of poisoning is what they have in common.

Before someone flips out: no i'm not sweeping all disorders of the brain under the rug of 'poisoning', I would never do any such thing. I am theorizing, and then only theorizing for myself based on incontrovertable personal experience.

Just want to go through a checklist to see if anything hits, i.e. there are similarities between us or not and there may well not be: were you bad at sports in school? Could it be plausable to say your immune system feels weaker in some way? Do you ever get minor ticks that feel metaphorical to reaching for a yawn in way of reaching for a satisfaction that eludes you by repeating or trying to achieve a reflex, such as trying to make yourself shiver in certain places or trying to squint in a certain way?

Incidentally I went through school perceived as stupid, and it was maddenning because I was extremely intelligent, but also slow and unmotivated. I couldn't flourish or express myself, it was like trying to play an online video game and you have enormous skill but it keeps lagging like hell so you can't show what you're made of, and then you feel 'why bother'. That's probably why I ended up having most of my life on the internet, where I can take as much time as I want to type out my thoughts. But I say this also to say that many aspergers sufferers are recognised for being outright wizards at certain things and don't live sad lives, so it's possible that it is not essential to aspergers (or people just like to misdiagnose intelligence as it?).

Just want to restress that this is only wholely applicable to me. This is not science, except insofar that science is a method and I'm applying it exclusively to myself with what I have available to me. I hope it applies to more than just me, because it could be of a great help, but I'm not sure.

Edited by caruga, 25 May 2011 - 10:56 AM.

[tritium]

Wow, that was like you were completely describing my life! Are there any other supplements that you take or other things that you did that helped?

Edited by tritium, 25 May 2011 - 06:18 PM.

[#1hit]

I deeply don't want to spike your hopes when it could be a completely different reason for your symptoms, but I have been curing it with NAC and rehydration, and possibly because of detoxification but maybe due to other activities of NAC. And I mean curing it, I am a different person. A lot of it is down to several years of intense introspection that allows me to rip out very unhelpful background premises in my thinking that inform my social behaviour, but the NAC has allowed that introspection to finally, really, pay off because of the inconsistent but sometimes massive deficiency in working memory and attention.

I'd first bear in mind that Aspergers is a label, not an explanation: i.e. all it means is you have a certain inventory of symptoms. I strongly theorize mine to either be caused by an inborn weakener immune system or inadequate metabolism of certain chemicals caused by poisoning, or the reverse: poisoning occuring because of the already weakener immune system. Or both in a circle. It needn't even be a dramatically weaker immune system, just enough to make a difference over time. I also am very strongly suspicious that my chronic fatigue which started at 14, and aspergers, have the exact same root cause, be it what I just described or something else entirely.

I believe if the body is poisoned in a slowly eroding, year-after-year accumulating manner it will make sacrifices where it has a choice. In my case it was definitely my working memory, as I've recently realised. I think there may be more of us that have this problem but different sacrifices are made in different parts of the brain. Or it could not be what the body does but where the poison decants itself. Either way, it could manifest itself in various abnormalities and not everyone winds up with aspergers, but something else, but the root cause of poisoning is what they have in common.

Before someone flips out: no i'm not sweeping all disorders of the brain under the rug of 'poisoning', I would never do any such thing. I am theorizing, and then only theorizing for myself based on incontrovertable personal experience.

Just want to go through a checklist to see if anything hits, i.e. there are similarities between us or not and there may well not be: were you bad at sports in school? Could it be plausable to say your immune system feels weaker in some way? Do you ever get minor ticks that feel metaphorical to reaching for a yawn in way of reaching for a satisfaction that eludes you by repeating or trying to achieve a reflex, such as trying to make yourself shiver in certain places or trying to squint in a certain way?

Incidentally I went through school perceived as stupid, and it was maddenning because I was extremely intelligent, but also slow and unmotivated. I couldn't flourish or express myself, it was like trying to play an online video game and you have enormous skill but it keeps lagging like hell so you can't show what you're made of, and then you feel 'why bother'. That's probably why I ended up having most of my life on the internet, where I can take as much time as I want to type out my thoughts. But I say this also to say that many aspergers sufferers are recognised for being outright wizards at certain things and don't live sad lives, so it's possible that it is not essential to aspergers (or people just like to misdiagnose intelligence as it?).

Just want to restress that this is only wholely applicable to me. This is not science, except insofar that science is a method and I'm applying it exclusively to myself with what I have available to me. I hope it applies to more than just me, because it could be of a great help, but I'm not sure.

I really like your online game analogy, I feel like I can sense what is going on and how to react all the time, but I can only be in my head or in my body at one time, if that makes sense. I can know exactly how to, say, arrange a bank deposit at my internship, or at least the procedures, but when I have to actually make the copies of a zillion checks, log everything, prepare deposit tickets, etc, the entire process is alien to me.

What type of NAC did you take, and what other changes did you couple taking the NAC with? does it take a while to start garnering noticeable effects? Thanks for answering this, your story definitely gives hope, even if its just as likely if not more so that my aspergers takes the more typical route and is caused by a fundemental structural abnormalty.

[caruga]

I take 500mg myprotein nac powder with 1000mg vitamin c, and then around 600ml litres of water every ~15 minutes. There is a night and day difference for me between taking and not taking the fluid. If I just take the NAC, I'll occasionally get a boost but most of the time I feel like poison is coursing through my veins, not unlike a mildish hangover. With fluid, I start to shiver a lot and sometimes tense up random muscles in strange ways. As these episodes start declining (they seem to reginite, but in ever decreasing intensity, whenever I intake more water) I start to feel a massive rise of energy and confidence. It's like everything feels normal to me and I didn't know what normal feels like.

I'm doing this every day now and am still going through the process.

What it won't cure is any possible adaptational neuroses that very commonly (and perhaps uniquely) arise in aspergers sufferers. I'll have to make another thread for that another day.

[platypus]

0.6 liters of water every 15 minutes? 28.8l in 12 hours? Isn't that dangerous or even life-threatening??

[caruga]

I guess I'll die happy, then. I don't drink if my body says no, and I don't do it like clockwork, just by estimate, and only until the nac seems to have left my system, so no, I'm not taking 28.8l in 12 hrs.

I do wake up during the night at the moment though to eliminate water, sometimes twice.

[caruga]

Wow, that was like you were completely describing my life! Are there any other supplements that you take or other things that you did that helped?

I've taken many supplements, mainly to help with my chronic fatigue. The only things I've not already mentioned that help are aniracetam (inconsistently), possibly phenibut, and a small dose of piracetam plus a small dose of alchohol. These all help with social inhibition and withdrawl (getting out of your head, being more charismatic/socially relevent), but I don't believe they get to the root of the problem (I think it's a wholely psychological problem indirectly provoked by a physical one).

[bdoris]

I guess I'll die happy, then. I don't drink if my body says no, and I don't do it like clockwork, just by estimate, and only until the nac seems to have left my system, so no, I'm not taking 28.8l in 12 hrs.

I do wake up during the night at the moment though to eliminate water, sometimes twice.

Have you made blood tests - sugar levels and such. Needing to drink a lot of water is a sign of some pathologies - I'd advise you to go to your doctor and make a blood test, check the blood pressure, etc.

I strongly advise you that. I insist, even!

[caruga]

I guess I'll die happy, then. I don't drink if my body says no, and I don't do it like clockwork, just by estimate, and only until the nac seems to have left my system, so no, I'm not taking 28.8l in 12 hrs.

I do wake up during the night at the moment though to eliminate water, sometimes twice.

Have you made blood tests - sugar levels and such. Needing to drink a lot of water is a sign of some pathologies - I'd advise you to go to your doctor and make a blood test, check the blood pressure, etc.

I strongly advise you that. I insist, even!

I don't need to drink it, except to make the NAC work.

[tritium]

I don't need to drink it, except to make the NAC work.

Interesting. Do you think NAC would work without the vitamin C? How long have you been using this regimen? Thanks!

[caruga]

I take the vitamin C as a precaution as I've read it can prevent possible kidney stones caused by long-term NAC use.

Edited by caruga, 27 May 2011 - 06:46 PM.

[Raptor87]

My friend had some aspie issues his whole life, then his mom forced the dr´s to send him to a specialist lab somewhere in Sweden. They found out that his body couldn't synthesize natural vitamin b12. Solution was synthetic B12.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Behepan

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cobalamin

I had some issues with autism behaviour when I was severally depressed.

Good luck finding a cure, hope it works out for you!

[caruga]

I have had my first day off of NAC for a while, after having a day where the possibly-detox symptoms were scarcely there. I felt normal, but when I asked my mother she said I seemed depressed, and then said I actually seemed how I used to seem. Not animated or talkative as I had been in recent days.

I figure my body may lack the ability to produce glutathione, which a lack of (from my perspective) reduces feelings of vitality that place a firm cap on where confidence and self-esteem levels would otherwise be. In other words, the NAC is having long term and short term benefits.

I'll go back on it tomorrow and see. It makes me wonder whether I should ever have kids (yes, I actually felt capable of attracting a woman while on this stuff--in fact I felt how could anyone NOT like me, I felt an intense emotion to the effect of everyone in town loving me, even though I actually had absolutely no social proof as I scarcely go out, which shows how little it's needed when it comes from within and perhaps that it's more outside of our control than we'd like to think it is). If I ever passed on my genes my offspring could well turn out very smart but dependant on substances for normal functioning. You never know what the government might control in the future. :/

Edited by caruga, 28 May 2011 - 09:46 PM.

[caruga]

This is a citation of an email to my dad:

"I've been doing more reading. It seems I can now link what I was saying about my 'working memory' to a physical location, a specific region of the brain: the prefrontal cortex. It seems it is actually 'executive function' that I was deficient in, and working memory is just a part of that. I'll quote a passage from the 'prefrontal cortex' article on wikipedia:

"The original studies of Fuster and of Goldman-Rakic emphasized the fundamental ability of the prefrontal cortex to represent information not currently in the environment, and the central role of this function in creating the "mental sketch pad". Goldman-Rakic spoke of how this representational knowledge was used to intelligently guide thought, action and emotion, including the inhibition of inappropriate thoughts, distractions, actions and feelings.[22] In this way, working memory can be seen as fundamental to attention and behavioral inhibition. Fuster speaks of how this prefrontal ability allows the wedding of past to future, allowing both cross-temporal and cross-modal associations in the creation of goal-directed, perception-action cycles.[23] This ability to represent underlies all other higher executive functions."

It's always reassuring to read something that backs up what you've already thought on your own, and the 'mental sketchpad' definitely fits what I already said. It was the 'mental sketchpad' that was failing me. We all have one, and I suspect that for this one faculty, most people were, in that one aspect, more intelligent than I was!

And guess where it would be required most, where things are constantly shifting and you are constantly required to adapt and think on your feet and not be distracted by irrelevent stimulae? Right: social situations! This is why I always rehearsed what I was going to say in advance of any even minor interaction, such as going to the shops and interacting at the checkout, rather than let it flow from me spontaneously. I've repeatedly verbalised to you and my mum in the past that it felt like I didn't trust a certain part of my brain to do its job and so my 'conscious, volitional mind' compensated for that, taking over its role: and you know, I was more right than I ever could have imagined!

In social situations, people could run rings around ME. In social situations, I was the dumb, slow, and thick person. The conscious mind is a slow and bumbling substitute for the prefrontal cortex when swiftly dealing with and adapting to a social environment, yet I felt forced to rely on it all the same!

The result of this substitution is that the mind becomes occupied with one thing and misses crucial details elsewhere. For instance I might be so focused on managing the logistics of the interaction, or projecting the right tone into my voice, or struggling to analyse whether somebody heard me or not, that I might for example, in the case of a shop interaction, leave without picking up the product I purchased (I've done this many times). Or I concentrate on remembering to pick up the product, and then miss something the shop assistant was saying to me, forcing him to repeat himself and me looking like I was in a world of my own! Ever heard that before?

One way or another, I end up committing what to me is an embarassing gaff, and 'reveal' this mind-weakness to the world and feel terribly exposed and embarassed.

And the weakness was very real and had just demonstrated in-the-moment how it fails from a survival point-of-view. To adopt a Darwinian way of looking at things, if I was in a tribe 10,000 years ago I would be at the bottom of the social ladder or even cast out (i.e. the valued-to-the-tribe ladder) as much as I was at the bottom of the ladder in school, because of my constantly exposing a weakness in executive function. Because of an inability to 'joust' socially, i'd never ascend or be recognised as worthwhile or having any mettle. No matter how much my intellect slowly accumulated powerful or enabling ideas, I could never use the instinctive means by which a man shows confidence, intelligence, wellness, swiftness to adapt and vitality in his subverbal communication (body language and voice intonation).

I'm hoping I'll now forevermore be able to say that about myself in the past tense.

If and when you have the time and energy (no urgency) you might find it interesting to read the 'prefrontal cortex' and 'executive function' articles on wikipedia. "

I could have also added that it is the reason aspergers sufferers avoid eye-contact; it is to avoid the overoccupied conscious mind from having to process what is on the face. If you're ever dealing with an aspergian who doesn't respond to you or ignores you, he perceives you as a threat because you will overload his brain and perhaps bully him. The best way to demonstrate you're not about that is to look away while talking.

[niner]

I'll go back on it tomorrow and see. It makes me wonder whether I should ever have kids (yes, I actually felt capable of attracting a woman while on this stuff--in fact I felt how could anyone NOT like me, I felt an intense emotion to the effect of everyone in town loving me, even though I actually had absolutely no social proof as I scarcely go out...

I think that the NAC induced a hypomanic state. That's certainly what it sounds like.

[caruga]

I'll go back on it tomorrow and see. It makes me wonder whether I should ever have kids (yes, I actually felt capable of attracting a woman while on this stuff--in fact I felt how could anyone NOT like me, I felt an intense emotion to the effect of everyone in town loving me, even though I actually had absolutely no social proof as I scarcely go out...

I think that the NAC induced a hypomanic state. That's certainly what it sounds like.

It induced my deserved baseline, but thank you.

Correction: thinking did it (reassessing my views), NAC won't do any such thing but was a helpful catalyst.

Edited by caruga, 30 May 2011 - 03:46 PM.

[caruga]

My experience of the detox process has changed a bit. Yesterday, I kept getting a pricking feeling in certain spots (not painful), which made me want to beat that part of my body or press a finger hard on it. I've never felt that before. Can I be permitted the quantum leap to massage and metals being related? And I went to bed with my spine feeling (not uncomfortably, but perculiarly) like it was made of rock, which I've also never felt before and may be related to the neck chills I've been getting? I read one story online about scoliosis induced by amalgams. Today, the symptoms of detox took several hours longer to arrive, and when they did it was mostly the pricking feeling that responds to thumping, not the stiffness that responds to rubbing, which makes me wonder if the process is reaching deeper tissues or organs.

I like science. I don't like 'alternative' where it represents mysticism or a rejection of the scientific method. And I wouldn't want to be lumped in with any crackpot. I've no reason to believe any of this except it is happening to me. This all causes me to reassess my views of medicine, and wonder just how many scientists and doctors are either dogmatic in the manner with which they accept certain views (let people think for them) and don't try to challenge their views with experiments, or that they're even politically motivated by the views they expound.

I hope I can get my doc on my side. I might need an amalgam removed (not the cause, since I've only had it two years) and I might be able to get it off of the NHS, otherwise it's a fortune I can't afford. I've read both that the mercury is trapped in the filling, and that there are vapours released during chewing that are 'negligable, unharmful' to the normal person (which I seem to be not). They can't both be true. Are there references that provide conclusive evidence of which is true?

Edited by caruga, 31 May 2011 - 06:35 PM.

[niner]

I like science. I don't like 'alternative' where it represents mysticism or a rejection of the scientific method. And I wouldn't want to be lumped in with any crackpot. I've no reason to believe any of this except it is happening to me. This all causes me to reassess my views of medicine, and wonder just how many scientists and doctors are either dogmatic in the manner with which they accept certain views (let people think for them) and don't try to challenge their views with experiments, or that they're even politically motivated by the views they expound.

This is good. A scientist would look at the whole picture here, and make note of a couple things: 1) You've been taking NAC and I don't know what else, along with a really large amount of water. These are not normal, and might have unknown outcomes. 2) there is no evidence that the mercury burden from a single amalgam filling would cause these symptoms, particularly given that they've cropped up suddenly at this time, concurrent with a marked change in your mood/cognition. Give this, it's most likely that your symptoms are due to the NAC/water regimen and associated biochemical changes rather than an amalgam filling.

I've read both that the mercury is trapped in the filling, and that there are vapours released during chewing that are 'negligable, unharmful' to the normal person (which I seem to be not). They can't both be true.

Sure they can. Nothing is 100%. The mercury is almost entirely bound in the filling, but a teeny tiny quantity is released during chewing. That quantity is not harmful to the normal person. While you may not consider yourself normal, it's likely that you have the normal complement of systems that deal with heavy metals in the body.

[tritium]

There was a very informative post on this forum about the possible cause of autism/aspergers a while ago, but it seems to have been deleted. The poster linked aspergers to excessive extrasynaptic NMDA subtype A or B receptors. He believed the cure was to reduce the extrasynaptic counterparts while maintaining the synaptic counterparts. There was a few research chemicals that he listed that were meant to help, which I don't recall. It might be a good idea to look into this theory.

Edited by tritium, 31 May 2011 - 09:22 PM.

[caruga]

I like science. I don't like 'alternative' where it represents mysticism or a rejection of the scientific method. And I wouldn't want to be lumped in with any crackpot. I've no reason to believe any of this except it is happening to me. This all causes me to reassess my views of medicine, and wonder just how many scientists and doctors are either dogmatic in the manner with which they accept certain views (let people think for them) and don't try to challenge their views with experiments, or that they're even politically motivated by the views they expound.

This is good. A scientist would look at the whole picture here, and make note of a couple things: 1) You've been taking NAC and I don't know what else, along with a really large amount of water.

I've been taking a moderate amount of water. I think I gave the wrong impression of how much I am taking. In any case I listen to my body and it's not making me sick, I'm replacing electrolytes and also fibre due to pushing through the poo more quickly.

These are not normal, and might have unknown outcomes. 2) there is no evidence that the mercury burden from a single amalgam filling would cause these symptoms,

No, already said that.

particularly given that they've cropped up suddenly at this time,

My whole life?

concurrent with a marked change in your mood/cognition.

Caused by conceptual integration of long-standing thoughts and realisations about fundamental truths pertinent to life that I struggled to take on board, accompanied by something the NAC is doing or the therapy (no quotes) by which it is allowing to happen, where my brain feels heavier (now feeling normal having gotten used to it) with more warmth, which feels like administration of piracetam sometimes does and would suggest increased cerebral blood-flow.

Give this, it's most likely that your symptoms are due to the NAC/water regimen and associated biochemical changes rather than an amalgam filling.

I can't say that.

I've read both that the mercury is trapped in the filling, and that there are vapours released during chewing that are 'negligable, unharmful' to the normal person (which I seem to be not). They can't both be true.

Sure they can. Nothing is 100%. The mercury is almost entirely bound in the filling, but a teeny tiny quantity is released during chewing. That quantity is not harmful to the normal person. While you may not consider yourself normal, it's likely that you have the normal complement of systems that deal with heavy metals in the body.

W(h)oops.

[caruga]

Oh, and I realise you're trying to prevent me from doing harm to myself. Thanks.

[TheFountain]

Wow, that was like you were completely describing my life! Are there any other supplements that you take or other things that you did that helped?

I've taken many supplements, mainly to help with my chronic fatigue. The only things I've not already mentioned that help are aniracetam (inconsistently), possibly phenibut, and a small dose of piracetam plus a small dose of alchohol. These all help with social inhibition and withdrawl (getting out of your head, being more charismatic/socially relevent), but I don't believe they get to the root of the problem (I think it's a wholely psychological problem indirectly provoked by a physical one).

It all comes down to an inferior mental function. For whatever deeply embedded reason you're nervous to embrace the outside world. No amount of supplements or drugs will cure that. They may be of temporary aid but the neurosis still persists. I would get a good therapist and work things out that way. Could take months (or even years) but it is well worth the personal exploration and end result.

[caruga]

Wow, that was like you were completely describing my life! Are there any other supplements that you take or other things that you did that helped?

I've taken many supplements, mainly to help with my chronic fatigue. The only things I've not already mentioned that help are aniracetam (inconsistently), possibly phenibut, and a small dose of piracetam plus a small dose of alchohol. These all help with social inhibition and withdrawl (getting out of your head, being more charismatic/socially relevent), but I don't believe they get to the root of the problem (I think it's a wholely psychological problem indirectly provoked by a physical one).

It all comes down to an inferior mental function. For whatever deeply embedded reason you're nervous to embrace the outside world. No amount of supplements or drugs will cure that. They may be of temporary aid but the neurosis still persists. I would get a good therapist and work things out that way. Could take months (or even years) but it is well worth the personal exploration and end result.

"I won't repeat myself" (repeats phrase in head).

[caruga]

Hey.

The 'hypomania' you refered to, comes on afternoon/evening time with the therapy, growing more and more intense as I reach bedtime. The following day I feel like I've retained 8% of that feeling as a new baseline.

If you turn out to be right and this all comes crashing down, either on me (I suffer horrid repurcusions) or next to me (I just grow tolerant to it), I'll be a man. I'll hope you will be for me too.

But today I seem to have reached a milestone because it feels that instead of retaining 8% of it, I've retained about 35%. The evidence is looking more increasingly to me being right.

You'll obviously get posted of my progress and whatever happens in the end.

Edited by caruga, 01 June 2011 - 03:34 PM.

[caruga]

I've seen a pattern twice now where if I take msm that day, the detox symptoms are weaker. Perhaps it encourages more conversion of nac to glutathione and less of it is there independantly to attach to/lift out other things? That might actually account for the spike in mood today. It's not a hyper or stimulated feeling in any way, it just feels like a normal degree of 'life' inside my body, as opposed to a crushed absence of life that defined my chronic fatigue and to some degree, my life before that.

Also my dysuria seems to be clearing up, and my hand-writing (affected by dyspraxia, which is often comorbid with aspergers and is with me) has gotten better.

Edited by caruga, 01 June 2011 - 08:50 PM.

[niner]

caruga, this might be of interest; the full paper is available at pubmed:

Am J Med Genet B Neuropsychiatr Genet. 2006 Dec 5;141B(8):947-56.
Metabolic endophenotype and related genotypes are associated with oxidative stress in children with autism.
James SJ, Melnyk S, Jernigan S, Cleves MA, Halsted CH, Wong DH, Cutler P, Bock K, Boris M, Bradstreet JJ, Baker SM, Gaylor DW.
Source
Department of Pediatrics, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Arkansas Children's Hospital Research Institute, Little Rock, Arkansas 72202, USA. jamesjill@uams.edu
Abstract
Autism is a behaviorally defined neurodevelopmental disorder usually diagnosed in early childhood that is characterized by impairment in reciprocal communication and speech, repetitive behaviors, and social withdrawal. Although both genetic and environmental factors are thought to be involved, none have been reproducibly identified. The metabolic phenotype of an individual reflects the influence of endogenous and exogenous factors on genotype. As such, it provides a window through which the interactive impact of genes and environment may be viewed and relevant susceptibility factors identified. Although abnormal methionine metabolism has been associated with other neurologic disorders, these pathways and related polymorphisms have not been evaluated in autistic children. Plasma levels of metabolites in methionine transmethylation and transsulfuration pathways were measured in 80 autistic and 73 control children. In addition, common polymorphic variants known to modulate these metabolic pathways were evaluated in 360 autistic children and 205 controls. The metabolic results indicated that plasma methionine and the ratio of S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) to S-adenosylhomocysteine (SAH), an indicator of methylation capacity, were significantly decreased in the autistic children relative to age-matched controls. In addition, plasma levels of cysteine, glutathione, and the ratio of reduced to oxidized glutathione, an indication of antioxidant capacity and redox homeostasis, were significantly decreased. Differences in allele frequency and/or significant gene-gene interactions were found for relevant genes encoding the reduced folate carrier (RFC 80G > A), transcobalamin II (TCN2 776G > C), catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT 472G > A), methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR 677C > T and 1298A > C), and glutathione-S-transferase (GST M1). We propose that an increased vulnerability to oxidative stress (endogenous or environmental) may contribute to the development and clinical manifestations of autism.
PMID: 16917939
PMCID: PMC2610366
Free PMC Article

Also, check this out, as far as an Aspergers stack:

Am J Clin Nutr. 2009 Jan;89(1):425-30. Epub 2008 Dec 3.
Efficacy of methylcobalamin and folinic acid treatment on glutathione redox status in children with autism.
James SJ, Melnyk S, Fuchs G, Reid T, Jernigan S, Pavliv O, Hubanks A, Gaylor DW.
Source
Department of Pediatrics and Biostatistics, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Arkansas Children's Hospital Research Institute, Little Rock, AR 72202, USA. jamesjill@uams.edu
Abstract
BACKGROUND:
Metabolic abnormalities and targeted treatment trials have been reported for several neurobehavioral disorders but are relatively understudied in autism.
OBJECTIVE:
The objective of this study was to determine whether or not treatment with the metabolic precursors, methylcobalamin and folinic acid, would improve plasma concentrations of transmethylation/transsulfuration metabolites and glutathione redox status in autistic children.
DESIGN:
In an open-label trial, 40 autistic children were treated with 75 microg/kg methylcobalamin (2 times/wk) and 400 microg folinic acid (2 times/d) for 3 mo. Metabolites in the transmethylation/transsulfuration pathway were measured before and after treatment and compared with values measured in age-matched control children.
RESULTS:
The results indicated that pretreatment metabolite concentrations in autistic children were significantly different from values in the control children. The 3-mo intervention resulted in significant increases in cysteine, cysteinylglycine, and glutathione concentrations (P < 0.001). The oxidized disulfide form of glutathione was decreased and the glutathione redox ratio increased after treatment (P < 0.008). Although mean metabolite concentrations were improved significantly after intervention, they remained below those in unaffected control children.
CONCLUSION:
The significant improvements observed in transmethylation metabolites and glutathione redox status after treatment suggest that targeted nutritional intervention with methylcobalamin and folinic acid may be of clinical benefit in some children who have autism. This trial was registered at (clinicaltrials.gov) as NCT00692315.
PMID: 19056591

[Logan]

Wow, that was like you were completely describing my life! Are there any other supplements that you take or other things that you did that helped?

I've taken many supplements, mainly to help with my chronic fatigue. The only things I've not already mentioned that help are aniracetam (inconsistently), possibly phenibut, and a small dose of piracetam plus a small dose of alchohol. These all help with social inhibition and withdrawl (getting out of your head, being more charismatic/socially relevent), but I don't believe they get to the root of the problem (I think it's a wholely psychological problem indirectly provoked by a physical one).

It all comes down to an inferior mental function. For whatever deeply embedded reason you're nervous to embrace the outside world. No amount of supplements or drugs will cure that. They may be of temporary aid but the neurosis still persists. I would get a good therapist and work things out that way. Could take months (or even years) but it is well worth the personal exploration and end result.

I agree, except that I do believe medication and/or supplements are necessary for many to facilitate getting as close to healthy function as possible.

[niner]

It all comes down to an inferior mental function. For whatever deeply embedded reason you're nervous to embrace the outside world. No amount of supplements or drugs will cure that. They may be of temporary aid but the neurosis still persists. I would get a good therapist and work things out that way. Could take months (or even years) but it is well worth the personal exploration and end result.

So people with Aspergers should just 'get over it'? I don't think you understand this condition. Supplements, drugs, and therapy all have a role here. The physical correlates of Aspergers are just beginning to be understood; there is a lot of biochemical dysfunction that can and should be addressed chemically. See my post above, for example.

[caruga]

Niner, I read somewhere that methylation is directly involved in the production of glutathione, and that glutathione is part of the bodies means of harmlessly transporting and eliminating metals out of the body?

It might explain why I experience more of my chills and what I ascribe as my detox symptoms, when just taking nac, but if I throw on a b-complex later in the day I feel more 'smoothed out' and in a very good mood (It usually only ever makes me anxious...?), but the detox symptoms decrease, suggesting to me the NAC acting freely got metabolised?

I take 5mg methylcobalamin sublingual, and there is a smaller amount in my b-right complex, but it only contains folic acid and not the methylated form of folate. I can't seem to find any reasonably priced methylfolate in the UK, and SAMe is worse. I'll look into it though, anything for my health.