Mild Asperger's and vasovagel syncope? Best place to treat?

I have a 12-year-old with mild Asperger鈥檚. About a month ago he passed out at school, landed his head and was unconscious for 20 鈥?40 minutes.

He鈥檚 been in and out of the hospital. Doctors say it is vasovagel syncope and are treating with beta-blockers. He鈥檚 still symptomatic. Where is the best place in the country to treat kids with Asperger鈥檚 and syncope?

His MRI (without contrast), 24-hour EEG video monitored, regular EEG, EKG, echo, cat scan, blood work, halter reading and loop monitor readings are normal. Even with high fluid and salt intake his pressure still drops when standing. His heart rate also changes. He gets dizzy and passes out if he doesn鈥檛 sit as soon as symptoms come on. Sometimes they come without position change. He is learning to get up slowly and move his arms, hands and head to get blood circulating.

We have good doctors. I just want to know if there is a hospital in the country that is well-known for treating syncope that occurs constantly. I鈥檓 not so good at online research and I am hoping people will help me.

My maternal grandfather had an AVM, treated at Stanford Medical Center. I called their office several times to get recommendations about testing needed to rule it out. They didn鈥檛 call back. Also, my son鈥檚 paternal grandfather died of a brain aneurism.

If you know someone who might be interested in helping research this topic, please copy and forward this post to the person or people.

Thank you!

Hi Violet:

I'm assuming that since you're posting on the 'Alternative Medicine' section, you won't mind a Chiropractor's take.

You sound like you're linking your son's mild Asperger's to his Vasovagal syncope. Because you didn't detail the events leading up to his unconscious episode, I'm wondering if he fell on his head first, which lead to unconsciousness. In which case, a mild condition on the Autistic spectrum might have little to do with what's going on now.

The Atlas is the very top vertebra of the spine, and it surrounds the brainstem. It's this area where the vagus nerve emerges and goes on to important organs such as the heart. If the Atlas is twisted or lateral enough (such as following a head injury), it can impose on structures that would cause the symptomatic profile you describe.

My best advice is to get your son's Atlas checked. If it doesn't help, it certainly won't hurt. With the multitude of diagnostics you've described all coming out 'normal', it would indicate that beta-blockers are a very temporary and 'band-aid' solution to a much deeper problem.

Be careful who you choose. Here are some links.