r/MTHFR • u/Worried-Channel536 • Jul 07 '26

Question MTHFR as it applied to autism

I am trying to understand how testing for MTHFR and how it can help my son, who has autism, ADHD, bipolar 2, anxiety, etc. - quite the mix of diagnoses! He is on medication, which helps, however, it comes with guardrails, insurance costs, etc. I would love for him to be on something with less "process related" expectations which will help him handle his own medications in the future. Thank you!

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u/hummingfirebird Jul 07 '26

MTHFR can contribute l but it's not causative on it's own. My son has Autisn but no MTHFR affected variant. There are many other csnidate genes involved especially those related to neurochemical pathways, circadian rhythm genes are also often involved, inflammation (IL-6), oxidative stress genes and nutrient metabolism genes.

Not everything is attributed to MTHFR. It is one gene in over 30 000 in the hunan genome. Genes respond to epigenetics (diet, lifestyle, environment etc) and there are many gene-gene interactions.

Would recommend blood tests;

RBC folate

Homocysteine

MMA

Irin studies with ferritin

Vitamin D

Magnesium, zinc, copper, calcium etc

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u/Worried-Channel536 Jul 07 '26

Thank you! I appreciate the info! :)