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>>Narrator: This may seem like a typical lesson in any given preschool, but what little Rose
Barker is doing, is anything but typical. Rose has autism - and just a few short months
ago, this would have been unthinkable. >>Angela Barker: This is a child that would
have a blank stare and run from other people if she didn’t know them. I would have to
literally carry her up the stairs with me if I just went from one level to another.
>>Narrator: Today, Rose is reading, smiling, and interacting like never before. And this
could have helped make the difference. As part of a clinical trial, the barkers added
a packet of cholesterol to Rose’s diet Twice a day - and that simple act may have had a
profound effect. >>Eugene Arnold: It’s possible that too low cholesterol could be
one of several causes of autism, affecting a sub-group of children with autism.
>>Narrator: So, doctor Eugene Arnold of Ohio State University Medical Center launched an
initial study with a simple premise - knowing that proper levels of cholesterol are essential
for brain development and function, he wanted to see if increasing cholesterol could reduce
symptoms in autism. And in Rose’s case, at least, the results were clear. >>Angela
Barker: Personally, for us, the cholesterol has changed our life. It was exactly what
she needed. Her development started almost immediately. She smiles again, she runs, she
has awesome motor skills. >>Narrator: Now, Arnold and his team at Ohio State’s Nisonger
Center are expanding their study in conjunction with the National Institutes of Health. But
even as they add patients to their trial, they do so with a word of caution.
>>Eugene Arnold: It’s very important that we not just rush out and try to give everybody
with autism cholesterol, because for some of them it may be harmful.
Narrator: But for some, like Rose, it could be a simple answer to a remarkably complex
condition. At Ohio State University Medical Center, this is Clark Powell reporting.