L-Carnosine and Autism

Robyn Autism, L-Carnosine 29 Comments
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“I want to ride in your car!”  Declan looked pleadingly at his dad.

“But Declan, your car seat is in mommy’s car.  You must ride with mommy in her car.”

“But, you could pick my seat up and take it out of mommy’s car and put it in your car.”

 

THAT MOMENT.

My husband and I look at each other with our eyes wide.  We picked Declan up and began to cheer.  Does he have any idea what he just said?  We knew what he did!

Declan solved a problem.  He provided a solution.  It was a solution that involved steps.  In the past, he would have started running in circles and swaying his head.  Or worse, sat there and screamed.  That is his baseline.

This time?  He provided a complex solution to a problem.

L-Carnosine

We are in the process of trying out a new supplement, L-Carnosine.  I read an article in Autism Parenting Magazine (found here) the discussed possible benefits of L-Carnosine for children with autism.

I followed up with some more online research.  I found an article on Nutrition Review (found here) that talked about L-Carnosine and autism.

In the article, I learned that L-Carnosine is a naturally occurring amino acid found in the muscle, heart and brain tissue.

L-Carnosine inhibits the formation of carbonyl groups, thereby reducing the formation of abnormal proteins.

L-Carnosine is already used to treat liver disease, cataracts, Alzheimer’s disease and cancer.

Recently, L-Carnosine has shown the potential to help children with Autism Spectrum Disorder with language and behavior.

In a study, researchers provided 31 children with autism 400 mg of L=Carnosine for 8 weeks.  The results of their study found improvements in:

  • Behavior
  • Socialization
  • Communication
  • Increase in Language Comprehension
  • Vocabulary
  • Biweekly Parent Reports

Chez et al, report L-Carnosine to benefit people with autism in the following ways:

  • Improved Language
  • Auditory Processing
  • Socialization
  • Awareness of Surroundings
  • Fine Motor Planning
  • Expressive Language

 

L-Carnosine is non-toxic and a safe substance.  It can be taken with or without food.  Per Dr. Chez, the recommended dosage is 400 mg twice a day.

Manic or hyperactive patients may have an increase in hyperactive behavior and may experience insomnia.  If this happens, Dr. Chez recommends decreasing the dosage.

If a person stops taking the L-Carnosine, there could be a regression in gained behavior.  Function was regained when the L-Carnosine was started again.

Since 2001, Dr. Chez has been studying the effects of L-Carnosine on children with autism.  There have been no negative physical changes noted.

Yes.  Based on the research, I was willing to try L-Carnosine.

I started with the recommended dosage of 400 mg.  I put Declan’s supplements in a juice cup with apple juice.  After a week, Declan was back to where he was at 2 years of age:  All over the place.  Nothing held his attention for more than a few minutes.  He was into everything.  He was breaking things, including furniture.  The screaming!  He screamed about everything.  And yes, we had more sleepless nights.

So, I decreased the dosage.  The erratic behavior began to decrease.  The screaming lessened.

And clearer statements are being made.  There is more thought happening!  Complex, problem solving thoughts!  Really exciting developments.

 

I need to point out I am not a Doctor.  If you are considering starting a new supplement talk it over with your Physician.

I personally made the choice to give the supplement to Declan based on articles and research I have read.

It is in my opinion we have had success with the supplement.  I will continue to use it.  I am very excited for Declan!

 

 

29 thoughts on “L-Carnosine and Autism”

  1. Congradulations on your discovery! Will have to send a copy of this post to my mom, maybe my little brother could benefit from getting a dose of the supplement.

    Again you prove that doctor’s do not necessarily know everything. I learned that long ago by experimenting on my own body. Where is the cheapest place to purchase this supplement?

    Reply

      1. Hi good afternoon could you tell me what type L-carnosine to give 4 year old son and how yo give him.

        Reply

  5. So very pleased you saw results. Wanted to try this on my son who is 21 now. Just wanted to know what dosage was the reduced amount….that you give now

    Reply

    1. Thank you! I don’t give him too much, about 100 mg twice a day. But he is 6. Hope this helps!

      Reply

      1. Hi Robyn
        I have done research
        on Caronsine, just want to know which brand you give to your son please so I can order it for my son.
        Kind regards
        Manjeet

        Reply

  6. Hello Robyn,
    I can see it has been a while from the time you have first written this post. Can you please tell me how is your son doing now and do you still give him the L Carnosine?
    Thanks,
    Mariam

    Reply

    1. Hello, Yes – Declan is doing very well these days. I tapered him off the L-Carnosine in the past year and he continues to do well. So that is good!

      Reply

  8. We started my 5 year old on 500mg/daily of L-Carnosine about 3 months ago. He has made so much progress! He has gone from several major meltdowns a week to 1 very mild meltdown each month. He began doing small task when asked to do them (like pick up your toy or put your shoes away) and now can even follow multi-step request (such as, “Go to your room, get your red shoes, and bring them to me downstairs,”) Scholastically, he is actually doing is school work! Previously, one typical kindergarten day of work would be spaced over the course of a week and sometimes 2 weeks. Not only is he doing a full day now, he has almost caught up to where he would be had he been doing a day of work each day all year.
    As a side note, for kids on the spectrum with insomnia, L-Carnosine has been shown to improve the ability to sleep. With that in mind we began giving our neurotypical 7 year old with insomnia the same dosage and he has increased the hours he sleeps by a significant amount. He now sleeps 90% of nights all the way through, where as before it was around 30%.
    L-Carnosine has been a game changer for this family.

    Reply

  9. Hi Robyn! Was your kiddo able to swallow the capsule, or it sounds like you opened the capsule and poured it into the juice? I’m getting ready to order some after doing research and was wondering how you did it. I won’t be able to get my son to swallow a capsule. Thanks for posting this!

    Reply

    1. Yes, my little guy can’t swallow pills. He’s almost 8 now and still needs a liquid. So I opened the capsule and poured it into his apple juice. Good luck!

      Reply

  10. Hi Robyn, Nice to hear that your son recovered from Autism, My son is 2.5 years old, he has some symptoms of Autism, like
    1. He is responding very few times if he calls his name, for example if you call him 10 times he will respond 4 times.
    2. he used to speak few words when he was in India, now from past 5 months (once he moved to Dubai) he shutter mouth, he is not even speaking a single word.
    3. his eye contact is moderate according to my observation.

    kindly suggest us, from your experience, is this L-carnosine will help to reduce his symptoms?

    I found cognicare syrup is it fine to use? please help us in this regard.

    kindly note my son is a premature baby (7 months).

    Thankyou

    Reply

    1. I’m sorry – Declan did not recover from autism. No one ever recovers from autism but there is some supplements/medications to help with the different symptoms of autism. Declan did find some relief with L-Carnosine. It is possible that L-Carnosine will help your son as well. I would have tried the cognicare syrup years ago when I wrote this post instead of what I did – emptying capsules into Declan’s juice – they just didn’t have it then. I hope this helps. Best wishes to you and your son!

      Reply

  11. Hi Robyn, thanks for the information and your experiences on L-Carnosine. My boy had some good changes with it too. He is more chatty and aware than before. Like Declan, he is also on the high functioning side. Are there any other supplements that you found useful?

    Thank you!

    Reply

  12. Hi Robyn, thanks for the article. May l know for how long did you give the supplement for and did you see any regression once you stopped it. I would really appreciate it.
    You are doing excellent work here.

    Reply

    1. Thank you! As Declan aged he was able to learn new skills with his support staff. He found other ways to meet his sensory needs. I stopped the supplements after about a year. I did not see regression.

      Reply

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