I have run a busy private family General Practice in Chelsea since 1984; the variety of people and problems I encounter in the course of a day, has led me to diversify into various areas, which are of particular interest to me. Other areas for example, are Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Hypothyroidism, Jetlag and Multiple Sclerosis. The freedom of running my own practice allows me to offer the most up-to-date medical treatment available, and to research and source this for my patients.

The Tommey family approached me in October 1998, with a view to giving their son secretin as a treatment for his autism. A friend of the family, Dr Mark Collins, a Consultant Psychiatrist at The Priory Hospital, Roehampton, was aware that I sometimes undertook off-label prescriptions (I have previously given patients treatments before they were officially licensed when I knew they worked and were safe), and suggested they contact me with a view to giving Billy the injection.

After doing some research, I felt there was enough evidence from cases in the USA, to attempt this treatment. As you are aware now, the results were amazing. Of course once the media got hold of this news, word quickly spread. Some nine months later, the results continue to be amazing for the majority of those who have had the injection. It takes a while to compile accurate figures, but at this stage, we can certainly say that following the first injection of secretin over 90% show an average improvement of 33%. This is of course very encouraging, and makes a massive difference to family life and opens up so many more opportunities to the child. Some of the few who do not show an improvement have persevered to have a second injection, and again though early to be conclusive, it seems that they benefit from this second infusion.

To date I have used only Ferring secretin, as I believe this is the gold standard; it was this form of secretin that was used when the discovery was made in the USA. We have no data as of yet on the effectiveness of other forms of secretin. Initially, we felt that it was the children with digestive disorders who would particularly benefit from this treatment; it made sense that this would be so, as secretin is a hormone involved in the digestive process. However, I feel that we have plenty of evidence to show that those with social and communication problems benefit no less than those with digestive problems. So, to answer a very frequently asked question, yes, your child is just as likely to benefit from secretin treatment if he/she has autistic traits, but no digestive problems.

We are busy compiling and preparing accurate results, and hope over the next few months to be able to give a clearer picture.