Research

We were primarily interested in providing optimal health for our patients, but when we hoped to discover answers to medical mysteries though clinical research we (mainly Dr. Scott) pursued that as time allows. Our patients were very supportive of these efforts. We are very thankful to our patients for that as well as just being great patients.

Dr. Scott has always been interested in infectious diseases which is one of the reasons he went into pediatrics. Also, since about 2007 he has been interested in the potential role of nutritional deficiencies of omega-3 fatty acids in disorders of the brain as well as in autoimmune and chronic inflammatory diseases. With the help of our patients and lots of hours of research, he conducted a case control (comparing children affected by ADHD and autism with children not affected) study that was published in the journal Medical Hypotheses in 2014.

The paper is titled “Interaction of Genes and Nutritional Factors in the Etiology of ADHD and Autism: a Case Control Study.” Over a dozen new related hypotheses are proposed, and data regarding interactions and factors not previously reported in the medical literature shed new light and offer hope for prevention of at least some autism cases. Other related articles were published in open access journals: "Nutritional Factors in Autism and Attention Deficit/Hyperactive Disorder" in the Journal of Nutritional Disorders and Therapy in 2014 and "How do Genes and Environment cause Autism?" in Austin Journal of Nutrition & Metabolism in 2015."

Dr. Scott’s first published medical letter challenged the then accepted dogma that antibiotic treatment had no significant effect on the clinical course of streptococcal pharyngitis (strep throat) by examining original data from a classic study. It was published in Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal in 1986 (Vol 5, No. 1, p. 112) He had another letter in the same journal a year later regarding “Bacteremia without fever.” (Vol 6, No. 10, p. 946) based on research done during residency. Several letters have been published in Pediatrics starting with “Omega-3 fatty acids, prematurity, and autism” in 2008 (Vol 122, No. 6, pp. 1416-1417. A more recent letter to the editor was published in Advances in Nutrition 2016 Vol 7, pp.420-421 entitled "Nutrition and Autism: Intervention Compared with Identification." The latest letter was published in October 2019 in JAMA Pediatrics. It was in response to an article that looked at vaccination rates in siblings of autistic children, and explained that there is a good model for the cause of autism that vaccines don’t fit. That information could ease some of the fears that parents may have about vaccines.

Another publication involved a tragic case of a baby fatally infected with type 1 herpes simplex from newly acquired maternal herpetic breast lesions.  It was an extremely rare situation in which breastfeeding had a tragic consequence, but one that needed to be shared with lactation specialists in order to potentially prevent other such cases in the future.  It was a case report published in the Journal of Human Lactation 2016 Vol 32, pp.86-88.

A more recent (2013) research project was done regarding influenza and why vaccines against it are not more readily accepted by parents. He found that the live “Mist” vaccine gave significantly better protection in that season for children from 2 to 18 years of age, and that those who have never had flu before may have inherent resistance to flu and may not benefit as much from vaccines as those who have had flu before. That study, entitled 'Reasons for Influenza Vaccine Underutilization: A Case Control Study,' was published in the American Journal of Infection Control in October 2016.

In 2018, Dr. Scott began another influenza study. With the help from many of our patient families, he was able to get a lot of information regarding the influences affecting risk for, frequency of, and severity of flu in individual children. The study was expanded to include the 2018-2019 season after finding that season to also be heavy. He and his coauthor got it published in Clinical medicine Insights: Pediatrics in 2022. Evidence for innate differences in individual influenza experiences included less than expected clinical influenza, no correlation between lifetime vaccine frequency and disease frequency, sex differences, and an association between past clinical influenza and current/future risk.

Dr. Scott has also contributed to Position Statements of the American College of Pediatricians (ACPeds) including “Human Papillomavirus Vaccination”, “Immunization – Responsibilities and Rights”, and “Reproductive Choices of Young Women Affecting Future Breast Cancer Risk,” as well as their Parent Handouts concerning COVID-19, “HPV Vaccine” and “Reproductive Choices.

Since the pandemic started, Dr. Scott has written multiple referenced commentaries about COVID-19 that are featured on the ACPeds.org website.