M. Mohamed Essa - Personalized Food Intervention and Therapy for Autism Spectrum Disorder Management

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It is a great pleasure to write a foreword for the bookPersonalized Food Intervention and Therapy for Autism Spectrum Disorder Managementedited by Drs. Mohamed Essa and M. Walid Qoronfleh, who have gained extensive experience in their respective scientific fields, including natural compounds and their potential beneficial effects on brain diseases and human health. It is highly commendable for these two scientists to author this book at this time when people are looking for something that would give them a good perspective on autism and the impact of food natural products on this disease spectrum.

Nowadays, there is great interest in investigations of food ingredients for their potential health benefits among the people suffering from autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We frequently fail to recognize the real benefit of traditional medicines and food natural ingredients despite the fact that they have been used for many centuries and are still being used widely in all cultures across the globe. This book provides a compelling perspective on the potential benefits of many edible items, including natural compounds, herbs, vegetables, fruits, grains, seeds, and nuts, for which substantial evidence now exist in the literature of their effectiveness against ASD. The individual chapters that are covered and written by experienced authors in their fields provide an additional value to the reader. The chapters are organized under three parts, covering the following: (1) Autism Spectrum Disorder from Background to Interplay of Genetic, Epigenetic, Environmental Risk Factors and Nutraceuticals, (2) Specific Foods and Nutrient Qualities in Autism, and (3) Food and Dietary Intervention and Therapy in Autism. This organization provides the reader a better basic understanding of pharmacological constituents, including their potential benefits against ASD.

Why this book is timely? Firstly, a greater proportion of the population in most developing and developed countries have become open-minded for the use of food ingredients and traditional medicines in spite of the use of allopathic medicines for treatment of diseases. Secondly, there is a huge increase in the prevalence of ASD globally, and until now, there are no proper medications to deal with symptoms or effectively manage comorbidities, behavior, performance, and food intolerances. Thirdly, misunderstanding and confusion exist among the parents of an ASD individual and their caregivers, and this book provides up-to-date clarification to the public.

Another notable factor in this book is that several chapters provide a better understanding of the mechanisms of the effects of various phytochemical constituents, such as sulforaphane, curcumin polyphenols (resveratrol), and flavonoids (luteolin). For instance, there is now an extensive literature on omega-3 fatty acids from nuts, showing they function as precursors for anti-inflammatory agents such as neuroprotectin D1 and resolvins, which might exert significant benefits on many neurological disorders including ASD.

In conclusion, I appreciate the efforts of the editors to publish this book, which is a great resource of composite information on food and autism. It should also be a good resource for parents with ASD children, dieticians, nutritionists, nutrition researchers, and other readers with interests in human health.

I was delighted when I received a request from Dr. M. Walid Qoronfleh to write a brief foreword for his book. I have known Dr. Qoronfleh for many years, and I have been impressed by his accomplishments in the biomedical field. During the last decade, Dr. Qoronfleh and I were among the team of Arab Expatiate Scientists (AES) who worked with Qatar Foundation to help in promoting Qatar research culture. In the process, we embarked on several new research initiatives in several important research areas. In the biomedical area, we also worked together on putting together and writing the planning document that was used to establish Qatar Biomedical Research Institute (QBRI), where significant biomedical research is currently being conducted today.

As a drug discovery researcher for over three decades in the pharmaceutical industry and academia, my research teams have always explored innovative approaches for design and synthesis of novel therapeutics for treatment of many diseases including central nervous system (CNS) disorders. We successfully discovered ten marketed drugs. Examples of CNS disorder drugs include the antidepressants Effexorand Pristiq, the sedative Sonata, and the analgesic Dezocine. While pursuing our drug discovery research, we were conscious of the importance of natural products therapeutic potential as well as the role of nutrition in preventing and ameliorating disease symptoms. Our efforts led to the discovery of natural products drugs like Mylotargand Toresil.

I am pleased to provide a foreword toPersonalized Food Intervention and Therapy for Autism Spectrum Disorder Management