Free the Iron Slaves: The Iron Trap Hypothesis.

Neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) such as autism, ADHD, and OCD involve a convergence of oxidative stress, immune dysfunction, mitochondrial collapse, and epigenetic silencing. The Iron Trap Hypothesis proposes a unifying root cause: chronic suppression of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) leads to iron becoming trapped in uncleaved heme, catalyzing a self-perpetuating redox loop driven by ferroptosis.

This “trapped iron” state disrupts neurotransmitter synthesis, impairs myelination, destabilizes sensory gating, and fuels chronic neuroinflammation. Chronic exposure to environmental triggers, such as glyphosate, fluoride, EMFs, seed oils, and blue light, suppress the Nrf2–HO-1–ceruloplasmin axis, particularly during critical windows of early brain development.

The hypothesis predicts a distinctive biomarker profile: elevated ferritin, low ceruloplasmin, suppressed HO-1, depleted glutathione, and methylation of stress-response genes (e.g., HMOX1, BDNF, MECP2). While each marker has been studied individually, this is the first framework to integrate them into a coherent, mechanistically predictive model.

To test the explanatory power of this model, a Bayesian analysis was conducted comparing the Iron Trap Hypothesis to the five leading autism theories: Genetic Determinism, Excitation/Inhibition Imbalance, Functional Disconnection Syndrome, Gut–Brain Axis, and Maternal Immune Activation. The Iron Trap model outperformed all five by orders of magnitude. Posterior probabilities exceeded 99.9% in every comparison, with Bayes Factors ranging from 206× to over 4,000× more likely than competing models indicating overwhelming statistical support for Iron Trap as the most probable root cause hypothesis available.

This paper also outlines a multi-modal therapeutic protocol targeting iron regulation, redox repair, and rhythmic neuroplasticity. Early clinical observations suggest potential to map biomarker signatures directly to behavioral outcomes, enabling individualized intervention and real-time redox monitoring.

Finally, the Iron Trap framework reframes neurodivergence not as deficit, but as context-dependent adaptation to modern environmental collapse. It offers a full paradigm shift from managing symptoms to liberating potential by removing the biochemical trap.