Newest fertility treatment may be a diet (Reuters)

Reuters - The newest low-tech fertility treatment may be a diet, researchers said on Wednesday after learning that obese men have more abnormal sperm and make less semen.

We have long held the opinion that the symptoms of ADHD could be lessened, and perhaps fully treated, by the use of amino acids and the help of specific ADD diets. Now a study from Italy gives more support for our position that prescription medications, particularly stimulants, are not the only effective ADHD treatments available.

The study from Italy looked at the effectiveness of just one amino acid in a specific population of ADHD children that are well known as poor responders to stimulant treatment - children with Fragile X syndrome and also ADHD symptoms. Fragile X syndrome is the most common hereditary form of mental retardation, and many children with the condition also have ADHD, or at least the symptom inventory of ADHD.

Over the years stimulants such as Ritalin have been used to treat the ADHD symptoms with these children, but with mixed or poor response. Stimulants often caused the children to be more irritable, less verbal, and often more withdrawn. So the researchers explored the possibility that the amino acid L-Acetyl Carnitine (LAC) might be helpful in reducing the ADHD symptoms, but without the side-effects.

L-Acetyl-Carnitine, or Acetyl-L-Carnitine, has been studied in patients with dementia from Alzheimers, and the treatment purchase bulk edta disodium showed some improvements in short-term memory tasks such as the Names Learning Test and the Digit Recall Test. Also in computerized testing, such as the TOVA, there were improvements in reaction time scores. The results suggested that L-Acetyle-Carnitine may have a beneficial effect on some features of Alzheimer-type dementia, particularly those related to short-term memory. L-Acetyl-Carnitine has also been studied in Huntington's disease with positive effects on movement disorders and dementia.

Acetyl-L-Carnitine or L-Carnitine is an amino acid which is normally synthesized in the liver from lysine and methionine. It is the precursor of acetylcholine and is synergistic with lipoic acid in its many functions.

Carnitine has a major role in transferring fatty acids across the membrane of the energy burning furnaces of the mitochondria of our cells. Without Carnitine, fats cannot be burned. Carnitine is the most useful single entity known, and indeed essential, in the mobilizing of fatty tissue deposits, helping the body in the natural removal of poisonous ketone bodies left over from fat metabolism.

The research team from the Universit Cattolica in Rome studied 51 boys, ages 6 to 12, diagnosed with both Fragile X syndrome and ADHD. It was a double-blind study, so the boys were divided into two groups, one to get the amino acid treatment and the other a placebo. They study lasted for one year, with the boys evaluated at the beginning (baseline), at six months, and after a year.

The boys treated with the L-Acetyle-Carnitine showed significant improvements. They were less hyperactive and had improved attention and focus, and without any of the side-effects that would be expected in this population from treatment with stimulants. In fact, there were no adverse side-effects reported by the amino acid group at all. The boys were also given intelligence tests, but there were no significant gains made on the IQ testing.

"We propose that LAC be recommended as a treatment of ADHD in FXS children," the authors state, "since it effectively reduces hyperactive behavior and improves social abilities without adverse side effects." They also suggest that these results may be applicable to children with autism, who also do not easily tolerate stimulants.

We have personally studies and observed the positive results from treatment with a combination of amino acids, lipid complexes, and homeopathic medicines in Attend with ADHD children. And we recommend that parents and physicians take a closer look at this alternative treatment.

SOURCE: American Journal of Medical Genetics. Part A published online Feb. 19, 2008. Part B will be published in April, 2008.

Learn more about our recommended Eating Program or ADHD Diet or to read more about ATTEND with amino acids for ADHD go to http://newideas.net - the ADHD Information Library. Douglas Cowan, Psy.D., is the clinical editor of the ADHD Information Library. This information is not to be considered medical advice, but is for information only. Consult your physician.