The 16 Root Causes of Inflammation in Autism with Dr. Richard Horowitz
Biohacking Autism with Nadia Elkhatib.Show Notes
Autism inflammation is often discussed as if it were one problem with one cause. In this episode, Dr. Richard Horowitz joins Nadia to walk through his 16-point MSIDS framework for complex chronic illness and discuss how he applies it to questions families and clinicians raise around autism. The conversation covers what Dr. Horowitz calls the six “rivers of inflammation”: infections, environmental toxins, microbiome disruption, intestinal permeability and mast-cell activation, nutrient deficiencies, and sleep. They also explore mitochondrial dysfunction and the cell danger response, neuroinflammation, POTS and dysautonomia, hypermobility, maternal inflammation, and biomarkers including CRP, VEGF, neurofilament light, GFAP, tau, and p-tau. Dr. Horowitz explains why he favors a multifactorial, symptom-guided approach rather than assuming one diagnosis has one underlying mechanism. The discussion includes Lyme and Bartonella, mold, gut-brain signaling, histamine and mast cells, mitochondria, and how different symptoms can point clinicians toward different systems to investigate. The MSIDS framework was developed for complex chronic illness, not specifically for autism. In this conversation, Dr. Horowitz discusses how he believes it may help autism families and clinicians ask broader questions about overlapping contributors to inflammation and chronic symptoms. Connect with Dr. Richard Horowitz: Get Dr. Horowitz’s new book, Ending Chronic Illness: https://cangetbetter.com/ending-chronic-illness/ MSIDS Foundation Dr. Richard Horowitz’s website: https://cangetbetter.com/ Medical Detective Substack: https://medicaldetective.substack.com/ Medical Detective Horowitz Lyme-MSIDS Questionnaire: https://msidsfoundation.org/questionnaire/ MSIDS Foundation For physicians with questions about complex cases: [email protected] Medical Disclaimer: This podcast is for educational and informational purposes only and is not medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always discuss testing and treatment decisions with a qualified healthcare professional.
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More from Biohacking Autism with Nadia Elkhatib.
My son was nonverbal. I was told he would never speak, and that if a child does not talk by five, he never will. Jimmy started talking at eight. This is the 11-minute version of my episode on autism recovery: the stories you never hear, what recovery means, how Jimmy started talking, and the five things it takes.
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