It is, however, recommended that the two markers be tested simultaneously. They are selectively elevated in autistic patients and should be measured as a sign of altered cellular autoimmunity a function of Th-1 type white blood cells. They are non-specific antibodies but are often present in patients with autoimmune diseases. The aforementioned laboratory findings clearly point to an autoimmune pathogenic mechanism in autism. The idea that autism is an autoimmune disorder is further strengthened by the fact that autistic patients respond well to treatment with immune modulating drugs.
Immune interventions can produce immune modulation a state of suppression or stimulation.
Depending on the nature of the immune abnormality, the goal of therapy should be to normalize or reconstitute the immune response instead of inducing immune suppression or stimulation. This will maintain a balance within the normal immune response, avoiding major fluctuations of overt immune activity which could be detrimental to the patient. Immune therapy should always be done in consultation with physicians. In autism, however, there is only one study that showed improvement of autistic-like symptoms in children when they were treated with an ACTH analogue. This result indicated that steroids are potentially useful in alleviating clinical symptoms of autism.