New treatment slashes autism symptoms

A promising treatment has shown remarkable success in treating autism—but will the FDA turn it into a Big Pharma blockbuster? Action Alert!

Recently we reported on the advancements in research regarding fecal microbiota transplants (FMT), which harness the power of the gut microbiome to treat illness. A recent study has found that FMT reduced autism symptoms by 50%. This is a stunning finding that provides further evidence of the incredible potential of FMT, but the FDA is on the verge of turning this affordable treatment into an expensive drug and thus potentially putting the treatment out of reach for many patients.

Part of what makes these findings so remarkable is the lasting effect of FMT. The improvement in gut health and autism symptoms persisted long after FMT was administered—up to two years later in the study. Similar effectiveness was found when FMT was used to treat an antibiotic-resistant bacterial infection that kills 30,000 Americans a year—most patients required just a single dose of FMT to fully recover. It is a testament to the power of the gut microbiome.

There is sound logic behind using FMT to treat autistic patients. Many autistic children have gastrointestinal (GI) problems. These children tend to have the worst autism-related symptoms: chronic GI discomfort can cause irritability and negatively impact behavior. Relieving GI discomfort through FMT can thus go a long way in improving autism symptoms.

Autism is one of the potential applications of FMT, but there are many more. It is being studied for a wide variety of indications, including ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s Disease, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, childhood regressive autism, metabolic disorders, diabetes, and others. FMT could lead to the next generation of medicines that utilize the trillions of microbes living within us to heal.

Currently, the pioneers behind FMT have a non-profit stool bank, OpenBiome that supplies most of the fecal matter for transplants in the US. Why, after all, should human feces carry an exorbitant price tag?

Yet apparently that is exactly what the FDA thinks should happen. As we reported previously, the agency is on the verge of deciding the future of FMT. The agency is deciding whether to regulate FMT like a new drug, or more along the model of donated organs, tissues, and blood products that are transferred from a healthy donor to a sick one. (Read our previous coverage for a more detailed discussion of the distinction between these two models.)

The drug model would of course allow Big Pharma to create monopoly drugs and charge a fortune for them, so we believe that is exactly what the FDA will do. It is what the agency has already done to a number of natural supplements such as CBD oil, L-glutamine, and the pyridoxamine form of vitamin B6.

It’s unfortunate that the FDA seems more committed to guaranteeing Big Pharma profits than looking out for public health. The decisions the agency is making are driving up the costs of healthcare for Americans. The benefits of FMT should be available to everyone, not just those who can afford to pay Big Pharma’s monopoly prices.

Action Alert! Write to Congress and the FDA, urging the agency NOT to regulate FMT like a drug. Please send your message immediately.

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By ANH-USA

What We Believe and What We Do

The Alliance for Natural Health USA (ANH-USA) is committed to sustainable health, the recognition that true health requires a proactive and preventive approach that focuses on a nutrient-rich diet, proper supplementation, and limiting our exposure to toxic substances. A system that is single-mindedly focused on “treating” sick people with expensive drugs, rather than maintaining healthy people, is neither practical nor economically sustainable.

ANH-USA is part of an international organization dedicated to promoting natural and sustainable health—and, in particular, consumer freedom of choice in healthcare—through good science and good law:

  • Since our founding in 1992, we have worked to shift the conventional medical paradigm from an exclusive focus on surgery, drugs, and other conventional techniques to an integrative approach incorporating functional foods, dietary supplements, and lifestyle changes. We believe this is the way to improve health and extend lives while reducing the costs of healthcare back to a sustainable level.
  • Sustainable health also applies the environmental ethic of conservation to our bodies. It urges us to live as nature intended us to live. Diet, nutritional supplements, exercise, and the avoidance of toxins are especially important tools in building and maintaining health.
  • Sustainable health is also about financial sustainability. Ever higher healthcare costs lead directly to higher unemployment and lower standards of living, both of which lead to more illness.
  • Today, preventive medicine is too often defined as taking more and more drugs at an earlier and earlier age, even in childhood. The concept of sustainable health is real preventive medicine and will dramatically reduce healthcare costs.

To this end, ANH-USA actively engages in legal initiatives, standing against forces that would limit your access to safe and effective dietary supplements, complementary therapies, and integrative medicines. We lobby Congress and state legislatures, act as a government watchdog, file comments on proposed rulemakings, and educate the public, the media, and other decision-makers.

Our most important tools:

  • A strong grassroots member base that is ready to act on a minute’s notice. ANH-USA is fortunate to have a dynamic, fast growing member base that collectively presents a unified front and demands their collective voice be heard. Thank you, members!
  • Effective lobbying. ANH-USA monitors legislation and regulatory activity on the state, federal, and international levels daily. Staying apprised of the domestic and global pulse on integrative medicine assists greatly in developing policy to advance integrative medicine.
  • Litigation. The court system has a role in protecting integrative medicine and a consumers’ right to choose. When it is required, ANH intervenes, through legal action, to protect the rights of the public.
  • Strategic coalitions. Collaboration is the most effective means to further a cause. ANH-USA has been highly effective in building long-term relationships with outside groups, members on the Hill, medical societies, and consumers from all walks of life.
  • Timely education campaigns. The timely launch of public educational campaigns is key to increasing support and recognition of key issues while furthering our overall cause.

Working closely with the media. Media can be a friend or a foe and whichever it may be, media is imperative to quickly disseminate a message. ANH-USA works collaboratively with the media to increase coverage of important natural health-related issues.

(Source: anh-usa.org; April 25, 2019; https://tinyurl.com/y6nqjc9z)
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