One of the early theories about the causes of hyperkinetic syndrome put it down to brain damage, but research has failed to find any evidence of this. In fact, the problem seems to be determined genetically, which means that the tendency to hyperkinesis is passed down from parent to child.
One study carried out in Canada showed that 20 per cent of cases could be attributed to true IgE-mediated allergy to food. From the case-histories compiled by allergists treating such children, it seems that most are sensitive to a great variety of things, including pollens, house dust, food additives and household chemicals. So it may be that IgE-mediated allergy plays a role in more than 20 per cent of cases, when other types of allergen, besides food, are taken into account.
Hyperkinetic children may also have deficiencies in certain enzymes that break down toxic compounds found in food, or produced by bacteria in the gut. It is quite probable that both IgE and enzyme deficiencies are important in causing the symptoms.
The role of food colourings, preservatives and other additives in hyperkinetic syndrome has received a lot of publicity. This idea was first put forward by Dr Ben Feingold of San Francisco, who also suggested that aspirin might be to blame, along with naturally-occurring salicylates (aspirin-like compounds) in fruits and vegetables. His diet excluded all these items and he claimed that 70 per cent of children improved considerably on this regime. Subsequent studies have not endorsed this, but they seem to show that there is a more modest level of improvement. For a small percentage of children, the Fein-gold diet makes a dramatic difference.
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