TARZANA, Calif., July 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Doctors and researchers on the
cutting edge of medical research are bringing hope to many of the 500,000
children in the U.S. diagnosed with autism and many of the more than
2.5 million with attention deficit disorder (ADD), attention
deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS).
    By treating these and other diseases as neuro-immune dysfunction syndromes
(NIDS) and viewing them as medical rather than developmental disorders,
Michael Goldberg, M.D., F.A.A.P, and his colleagues at the Neuro-Immune
Dysfunction Syndromes Research Institute (NIDS-RI) have seen dramatic
improvement and normalization in children previously deemed medically
untreatable.
    Autism is more prevalent today than it was in the early 1980s when one in
10,000 children were afflicted.  Today, the National Institutes of Health
(NIH) estimates that one in 250 children are diagnosed as autistic.  Treating
these children costs more than $60,000 per child, per year, according to
parents whose children have the disorder.  The number of children with ADD and
ADHD disorder also has increased dramatically in the past two decades, with
estimates topping two million, according to the NIH.
    "Autism has migrated from a rare disorder to one that is now 10 to 20
times more likely to be diagnosed.  It's scientifically impossible for an
epidemic to be caused by developmental, genetic or 'brain damaged'
conditions," said Dr. Goldberg.  "Without a doubt, this is a disease process
masquerading, or being misinterpreted, as a 'developmental' disorder.  We need
to stop assuming that the symptoms are a result of birth or genetic defects or
psychological problems and start looking at the immune connection."
    According to Dr. Goldberg, NIDS patients are genetically predisposed to
having a dysregulated immune system.  The immune system malfunction can be
triggered by a variety of factors.
    Diagnosis for NIDS is simple:  an immune panel run through blood testing
and a NeuroSPECT scan which measures blood flow to the brain.  NeuroSPECT
scans of children with NIDS show reduced blood flow to portions of the brain.
    By regulating and cooling down the immune system and the targeted use of
FDA approved drugs, Dr. Goldberg and other specialists working with these
children have seen dramatic improvements.
    Extensive clinical work over the past five years supports the NIDS-RI
hypothesis that many developmental disorders are actually immune-mediated
diseases affecting the central nervous system.
    Dr. Goldberg and Jeffrey Galpin, M.D., a clinical associate professor of
medicine at the University of Southern California and a renowned AIDS
researcher, along with the NIDS Scientific Advisory Board of leading medical
researchers, professionals and specialists from various fields are calling for
the trials of new immune modulator drugs to be applied to adults and children
with these disorders in an accelerated, expedient manner.
    For more information on NIDS, visit http://www.nids.net or
http://www.neuroimmunedr.com .

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