Beta Caseins and their link to Neurological Conditions

It must be clarified that the hypothetical link between beta casein variant consumption with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) and schizophrenia relates not to the cause, but to the aggravation of symptoms associated with these neurological conditions. A number of studies have been published regarding the connection between diet and neurological disorders that identify casein as a dietary component strongly linked with the aggravation of the associated symptoms [1], [2], [3]. More specifically, it is believed that the absorption of food derived exomorphins, such as BCM-7, may aggravate symptoms associated with ASD or schizophrenia [1].

This hypothesis is the basis of 'dietary intervention' that excludes gluten and casein from the diet of ASD patients. The former, gluten, has been shown to release gliadomorphin, an exomorphin comparable in opioid activity to BCM-7. A number of laboratories in the United States and Europe offer urine tests which determine the level of peptides including BCM 7 and other beta casomorphins to serve as an indication of the potential usefulness of dietary intervention in the treatment of ASD patients [4].

As described in the section summarising beta casein derived bioactives, this aggravation has been investigated in animal trials studies and has been shown to be reversible by the administration of specific opiate blockers. Though it is acknowledged that a number of other truncated forms of BCMs may be yielded from A2 beta casein and other milk proteins, it is believed that BCM-7 is the most relevant owing to the levels in which it is detected in urine relative to other BCMs and that it is reported to have a relative longer half life.

These studies suggest that the consumption of beta casein A1 and subsequent production and absorption of BCM-7 may significantly contribute to the aggravation of symptoms of some neurological disorders, most notably those associated with Asperger's Syndrome of Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Citing a cross-section of these reports, an abandoned patent application filed in March 2002 [5] explicates the connection between beta casein A1 and neurological disorders.


References:

[1] Reichelt KL, Knivsberg A-M 2003; Can the pathophysiology of autism be explained by the nature of the discovered urine peptides? Nutritional Neuroscience 6:19-28.

[2] Knivsberg AM, Reichelt KL & Nodland M (2001): Reports on dietary intervention in autistic disorders. Nutritional Neuroscience 4: 23-37

[3] Cade R et al. 2000; Autism and Schizophrenia: Intestinal Disorders,Nutritional Neuroscience 3: 57-72.

[4] Testing laboratories listed at: http://www.autismndi.com/faq/display.asp?content=FAQ&shownews=20040922164284

[5] PCT/WO 02/19832/A1; Milk containing beta casein with proline at position 67 does not aggravate neurological disorders; Crawford RA, Boland MJ, Norris CS, Hill JP, Fenwick RM.