NHS linky
I read the Medscape article originally but you don't need an account to access this one. I found it interesting, particularly the part about behaviour improvement after fever.
From Medscape:
Dr Singh noted that colleague and coinvestigator Andrew W. Zimmerman, MD, had previous experience with children with ASD who came into his clinic with a fever and who were showing decreased hyperactivity, at least temporarily. Dr Zimmerman published a study investigating this phenomenon in 2007, but the mechanism remained unclear.
An isothiocyanate derived from broccoli sprouts, sulforaphane "upregulates expression of the heat-shock response" ? much as a fever does. Because of this, the investigators examined whether the compound could also improve symptoms of ASD.
"Dietary sulforaphane, of recognized low toxicity, was selected for its capacity to reverse abnormalities that have been associated with ASD, including oxidative stress and lower antioxidant capacity, depressed glutathione synthesis, reduced mitochondrial function...increased lipid peroxidation, and neuroinflammation," write the researchers.
They enrolled 40 males between the ages of 13 and 27 years (mean age, 17 years) who had moderate to severe ASD. Of these, 26 were randomly assigned to receive 50 to 150 µmol daily of the sulforaphane-rich broccoli sprout extract for 18 weeks, and 14 received matching placebo.
A total of 32 of the participants had a history of behavioral improvements after having had a fever.
I had a younger brother with severe autism (he died very young, in an accident) so although I don't have autistic DC myself (at least, not that I am aware of) this is a subject close to my heart. I hope it is at least interesting :)