Autism, schizophrenia, and Parkinson's disease: reversing the direction.

Endogenous methyl-alkaloid poisoning due to excess catecholamine production appears to be the underlying cause of autism, schizophrenia, Parkinson's disease, and many other disorders. After recovering from a several-decades-long course of central nervous system poisoning, due to allergic response to caffeine, ingesting other legal toxins, and chronic misdiagnoses, I experienced attention deficits, headaches, twitches, and other symptoms of "mental illness" and neurodegeneration from severe stress, exposure to pesticide, smelling caffeine, and ingesting toxins in my food. (1) Familiar with the symptoms of central nervous system poisoning and not willing to risk my body and mind again to modern medical care, I took the matter into my own hands, opened my organic chemistry books, utilized Dr. Abram Hoffer's findings, treated myself, recovered, and discovered the body's second gear system. Methylated catecholamines and other methylated chemicals make up this second gear system. (1)

Apparently, oxidative stress activates the second gear system to decrease catecholamine production and damage by oxidative stress. (1) If the system is in a state of equilibrium and something changes, the system shifts in whatever way it can to restore equilibrium. (2) The body methylates dopamine, dopa, 5-hydroxytryptophan, tyrosine, and other biochemicals as a temporary measure to prevent tissue damage. But when a person continues to be under the influence of oxidative stress, the body remains in second gear, and 3-O-methyldopamine, 3-O-methyldopa, and other extra methylated chemicals accumulate and damage the central nervous system. (1) These extra methylated chemicals cause carbon dioxide retention and methyl-alkaloid poisoning and trigger numerous biochemical and immunological reactions as the body attempts to return to its steady state. (1)

According to my experience and findings, this situation is indistinguishable from amphetamine psychosis, mescaline use, and pesticide poisoning. (1) And endogenous poisoning can include mescaline poisoning. (1) Dopamine converts to 3-O-methyldopamine, a form of amphetamine, (1,3) and dopamine can convert to mescaline by way of methylation and methoxylation. (1,4)

Evidence suggests that autism, schizophrenia, and Parkinson's disease are the state of methyl-alkaloid poisoning. Many autistic children have high levels of homocysteine, (1,5) and methylating dopa increases homocysteine. (6) Bufotenine is an extra methylated biochemical, a second gear chemical. (1,3) To decrease serotonin production, the body methylates 5-hydroxytryptophan to bufotenine, a psychoactive chemical. (1,3) Bufotenine is in autistic patients (7,8) and persons diagnosed with schizophrenia, (9,10) and schizophrenia is documented to be a toxic state. (1,11,12) Creatinine phosphokinase (CPK) is elevated with autism, (13,14) schizophrenia, (1,11,12) and Parkinson's disease, (15) which means that adenosine triphosphate (ATP) is low, likely due to the body using too much ATP in attempt to eliminate endogenous toxins. (1)

Endogenous 3-O-methyldopa lowers dopamine production, is involved in Parkinson's disease, and appears to be involved in cancer. (1) It was recently reported that 3-O-methyldopa decreased the dopamine turnover rate in rat striatum (16) and that 3-O-methyldopa is cytotoxic. (1,16) Levodopa (L-dopa) converts to 3-O-methyldopa (1,17) and causes oxidative stress (18) by forcing dopamine production and increasing endogenous methyl-alkaloid poisoning. (1) And yet, L-dopa remains the number one drug to treat Parkinson's disease.

As a medical professional, I am appalled at what is going on in mainstream medicine. According to my chemistry knowledge, many doctors are moving in the wrong direction by prescribing Ritalin, L-dopa, and other stimulants to persons suffering from attention deficits, mental status changes, motor changes, and decreased dopamine production--as a result of excess catecholamine production.

Nature, niacin, and other methyl acceptors help detoxify and restore the body. Approximately 45 years ago, Abram Hoffer, MD, PhD, discovered that natural methyl acceptors, including niacin, riboflavin, thiamine, and ubiquinone, can delay progression of neurodegeneration. (19) I confirm Hoffer's findings. A high dose of niacin (500 mg a day) eliminated my symptoms by accepting extra methylated biochemicals. (1)

Ruth Whalen, MLT (ASCP), BA

592 Sandwich Road

East Falmouth, Massachusetts 02536

[e-mail]

1. Whalen R. Foreword: Hoffer A. The Light: How Stress Poisons the Central Nervous System and Causes ADHD, Parkinson's Disease, Schizophrenia, Autoimmune Response and More. Lulu, 2007.

2. Holum JR. Fundamentals of General, Organic, and Biological Chemistry. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1978.

3. Whalen R. Methyl-alkaloid poisoning: mental illness and neurodegeneration, and the benefits of niacin. Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine. In press.

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8. Narasimhachari N, Himwich HE. Biochemical studies in early infantile autism. Biol Psychiatry. 1975 Aug;10(4):425-32.

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12. Whalen R. Foreword: Hoffer A. Welcome to the Dance: Caffeine Allergy, A Masked Cerebral Allergy And Progressive Toxic Dementia. Victoria, B.C.: Trafford; 2006.

13. Poling JS, Frye RE, Shoffner J, et al. Developmental regression and mitochondrial dysfunction in a child with autism. J Child Neurol. 2006 Feb;21(2):170-2.

14. Zwaigenbaum L, Tarnopolsky M. Two children with muscular dystrophies ascertained due to referral for diagnosis of autism. J Autism Dev Disord, 2003 Apr;33(2):193-9.

15. Takubo H, Shimoda-Matsubayashi S, Mizuno Y. Serum creatine kinase is elevated in patients with Parkinson's disease: a case controlled study. Parkinsonism Relat Disord. 2003 Apr;9 Suppl 1:S43-6.

16. Lee ES, Chen H, King J, et al. The role of 3-O-methyldopa in the side effects of L:-dopa. Neurochem Res. 2007 Aug 24. Abstract. Available at: http://www.springerlink.com/content/2267447490722305/. Accessed Jan 2008.

17. Deleu D, Sarre S, Ebinger G, et al. In vivo pharmacokinetics of levodopa and 3-O-methyldopa in muscle. A microdialysis study. Naunyn Schmiedebergs Arch Pharmacol. 1991 Nov;344(5): 514-9.

18. Vatassery GT, Smith WE, Ouach HT. Effect of oxidative stress induced by L-DOPA on endogenous antioxidants in PC-12 cells. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2006 Aug;1074:330-6.

19. Hoffer A. Vitamin B-3 Schizophrenia: Discovery, Recovery, Controversy. Kingston, Ontario: Quarry Press; 1998.