The direct annual healthcare costs experienced by parents and carers of children with Down syndrome can be considerable. A study published in 2011 surveyed 363 affected families in Western Australia and found an average annual cost of $4,287 USD for care including hospital, medical, pharmaceutical, respite, and therapy. While conventional medicine holds that ameliorating Down syndrome and other intellectual disabilities is not possible, research shows that the use of high-dose micronutrient supplements can provide significant benefits.
Some of the research on intellectual disabilities and high-dose micronutrients is so convincing that it is difficult to understand why it hasn’t yet been widely implemented into medical practice. A good example of this is a study published in the prestigious Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America journal in 1981. The basic aim of the study was to explore the hypothesis that intellectual disabilities are essentially diseases in which the genetic pattern of the afflicted individual requires an augmented supply of one or more micronutrients.
Significant increases in IQ
A partially double-blind experiment, the study involved sixteen school age children whose initial IQs ranged from approximately 17 to 70. The children were given nutritional supplements or placebos daily over a period of 8 months. The supplements contained 8 minerals in moderate amounts, and 11 vitamins. The vitamins, which were mostly given in high doses, included 15,000 IU of vitamin A, 300 mg of vitamin B1, 200 mg of vitamin B2, 750 mg of vitamin B3, 490 mg of vitamin B5, 350 mg of vitamin B6, 1,000 mcg of vitamin B12, 400 mcg of folic acid, 1,500 mg of vitamin C, 300 IU of vitamin D, and 600 IU of vitamin E.
During the first 4-month double-blind period of the study, the five children who received the supplements increased their average IQ by between 5 and 9.6 points. In contrast, the eleven children who were given placebos showed negligible change. In the second period of the study, the children who had originally been given the placebos received supplements instead. Impressively, at the end of the study, these children showed an average IQ increase of at least 10.2 points, a highly significant gain.
Notably, three of the five children who were given supplements during both periods of the study showed additional IQ gains during the second 4 months, for an overall average increase of nearly 16 points. Moreover, three of four children with Down syndrome exhibited IQ increases of between 10 and 25 points. In addition to their intellectual improvement, these children also showed physical changes toward normal.
Improvements in school achievement
Several of the children improved greatly in their school achievement. On their teachers’ recommendations, two of them were even able to transfer from programs for the intellectually disabled to regular schools and grades. A further significant finding was that the supplements improved visual acuity in two children to such an extent that they were able to stop wearing glasses.
The researchers concluded that their study results support the hypothesis that intellectual disabilities involve a higher-than-normal requirement for one or more micronutrients, and that appropriate micronutrient intervention can improve the IQ and functioning of affected children. Noting that all of the children who took part in the study showed improvement, and sometimes dramatically so, the researchers wrote that it is likely that the earliest possible use of supplementation would bring the greatest improvements. They also specifically described the use of drug treatments in such children as “dubious.”
Low levels of essential micronutrients are common in Down syndrome
Separate research has since confirmed that individuals with Down syndrome have low levels of vitamin D. A high prevalence of vitamin A deficiency has also been noted. Lower than normal levels of zinc, selenium, and calcium have similarly been observed, as also have significantly decreased levels of coenzyme Q10. Further evidence of the prevalence of micronutrient deficiencies can be seen in the fact that Down syndrome patients with Alzheimer’s disease – a disease they are at high risk of developing – have low levels of vitamin E. These findings alone justify serious consideration being given to high-dose micronutrient supplementation in those afflicted with the syndrome.
Dr. Rath’s research has shown that with appropriate micronutrient supplementation, essentially everyone can improve their cognitive performance. This right should not be denied to people with Down syndrome.