Nevada
AMPLIFIED: New autism treatment offers hope to Nevada families
LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — A medication traditionally used in cancer treatment has received FDA fast-track approval as a new therapy for children with autism, offering hope to Nevada families seeking treatment options.
Leucovorin, a generic drug typically used with cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, was fast-tracked for FDA approval in September 2025 for autism treatment. The medication works as a folic acid supplement for children who have a folic acid deficit.
“It’s a new medication in the sense of treating children with autism. It’s not a new drug, though. It’s been around. It’s typically been used with cancer patients undergoing chemo,” said FOX5 reporter Talia Kirkland. “So new, but not so new, if that makes sense.”
Las Vegas family tries new treatment
Seven-year-old Christopher Wilson, who has autism and is nonverbal, is among the first Nevada children to try the new treatment. His father, Sean Wilson, said the family was desperate for answers after Christopher was diagnosed as an infant.
“Even getting a diagnosis can be difficult,” Kirkland said, describing the Wilson family’s experience. “So there’s already some type of hardship that these families go through from the beginning.”
Christopher experienced what doctors initially thought was blindness at birth before receiving his autism diagnosis. The family has been using leucovorin for about 30 days under the care of a local pediatric neurologist.
“Little bottle of hope”
The autism community has embraced leucovorin with cautious optimism, with some calling it “the little bottle of hope.”
Shawn Wilson, Christopher’s father, told FOX5 he had read stories online about dramatic improvements.
“I’ve read stories where sometimes when they begin using leucovorin, he’s seen that one, two, three day and then the child is talking,” Kirkland said, describing Wilson’s research.
However, the Wilson family has not yet seen major improvements after 30 days of treatment.
Doctor emphasizes realistic expectations
Dr. Devraj Chavda, one of the few pediatric neurologists in Las Vegas, is prescribing the medication but emphasizes realistic expectations for families.
“We shouldn’t look at autism as something that is curable. He kept saying that, you know, it’s treatable,” Kirkland said, describing the doctor’s approach. “And even he told Shawn with trying this medication with Christopher, that this is a treatment [not a cure].”
The doctor explained that even if the medication helps children begin speaking, medical professionals still need to determine the root cause of speech delays.
“Even if we get those amazing results where he does begin to speak, we still have to figure out what was the root cause, what was blocking that speech,” Kirkland said.
Limited specialists create challenges
Finding medical experts for the story proved challenging due to Nevada’s shortage of pediatric specialists. The reporting process, which began in November 2025, took months to complete because of the limited number of pediatric neurologists in the Las Vegas area.
“That even just from a journalistic point of view, to find experts is difficult,” Kirkland said. “There are so few pediatric neurologists in this area.”
Federal study planned for 2026
While Christopher Wilson is not part of an official study, the federal government plans to conduct a major trial of leucovorin for autism treatment in 2026. Currently, children like Christopher are receiving the medication anecdotally through their doctors.
“His doctor, I’m sure, is with every patient that he’s prescribing this. I’m sure he’s watching and keeping very detailed notes just to see how this works,” Kirkland said.
Concerns about generic medication quality
Because leucovorin is a generic drug, doctors have concerns about quality.
“One of the big concerns is that because it’s a generic, generics can vary a little,” Kirkland said. “So doctors do have that concern that if we’re using this medication in this capacity, that the quality is all going to be standard across the board.”
Parent’s perspective
Despite not seeing immediate results, Shawn Wilson remains committed to trying the treatment for his son.
“You just want to do the best thing you can do for your kid. You want to help them out, and you want them to have as normal of a life as you would expect,” Shawn said.
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First team
Ty Ahlstrom, Centennial – The junior had 373 digs and was a first-team 5A all-state libero for the 5A state runner-up.
Evan Ditmar, Palo Verde – The senior first-team 5A all-state outside hitter had 187 kills with a .328 hitting percentage.
Luke Hashimoto, Arbor View – The senior had 302 digs and 37 aces for the 5A state champion.
Porter Hughes, Basic – The senior had 373 kills with 218 digs and 38 aces for the 5A state semifinalist.
Lincoln Larson, Centennial – The senior was the 5A state player of the year and was second in the state with 460 kills, on a .371 hitting percentage, and added 283 digs and 72 aces for the 5A state runner-up.
Jagger Mendenhall, Palo Verde – The senior first-team 5A all-state setter had 414 assists.
Risden Miller, Arbor View – The junior led the 5A state champion with 279 kills and added 173 digs.
RJ Regalado, Centennial – The senior had 723 assists and was a first-team 5A all-state.
Max Romzek, Shadow Ridge – The junior had 152 kills on a .437 hitting percentage with 66 blocks for the 5A state semifinalist.
Mateo Salomon, Shadow Ridge – The sophomore had 169 kills with a .374 hitting percentage for the 5A state semifinalist.
Keagan Sugden, Arbor View – The junior setter led the state with 1,129 assists for the 5A state champion.
Mau Tuiaana, Centennial – The senior had 162 kills on a .397 hitting percentage, 92 blocks and 147 digs for the 5A state runner-up.
Kenyon Wickliffe, Arbor View – The senior had a .477 hitting percentage with 176 kills and 46 blocks for the 5A state champion. He is committed to Cal State Northridge.
Jacob Wienke, Desert Oasis – The senior was the 4A Mountain League player of the year led the Diamondbacks with 290 kills and 154 digs on their way to the 4A state title.
Coach of the year
Nicole Adarme, Arbor View – Guided the Aggies to the Class 5A state title, the program’s first boys volleyball title.
Second team
Graham Blanchard, Arbor View – The senior had 179 kills, 32 aces and 136 digs for the 5A state champion.
Zelworth Chavis, Liberty – The 4A Lake League player of the year had 731 assists and 64 aces for the 4A state semifinalist.
Zavier Coleman, Shadow Ridge – The senior had 139 kills and 136 digs and was a first-team 5A all-state selection.
Andrew Gutierrez, Palo Verde – The junior had 153 kills 35 aces and was a first-team 5A all-state outside hitter.
Ty Hardy, Basic – The senior had 274 kills and 257 digs for the 5A state semifinalist.
Ty Harper, Shadow Ridge – The senior had 211 digs and was a first-team 5A all-state selection for the 5A state semifinalist.
Kaleb Law, Mojave – The senior was the 4A Sky League player of the year and was second in the state with 436 kills on a .457 hitting percentage with 69 blocks, 55 aces and 249 digs to help the Rattlers reach the 4A state semifinals.
Oakland Liugalua, Cadence — The freshman had 406 kills on a .396 hitting percentage with 154 digs and 57 aces.
Gavin McColl, Centennial – The senior had 154 kills on a .333 hitting percentage with 94 blocks for the 5A state runner-up.
Brad Rappleye, Sky Pointe – The junior was the 4A Desert League player of the year and had 187 kills and 78 blocks to help the Eagles reach the 4A state title game.
Levi Randall, Boulder City – The junior had 149 kills with a .477 hitting percentage and 92 blocks for the 3A state champion.
Yeheshua Ruiz, Foothill – The senior had 157 kills with a .426 hitting percentage with 70 blocks and was a first-team 5A all-state selection.
Preston Van Beveren, Boulder City – The senior had 137 kills on a .457 hitting percentage with 99 blocks, 27 aces and 141 digs for the 3A state champion.
David Zwahlen, Boulder City – The 3A state player of the year had 232 kills with a .364 hitting percentage, with 337 digs and 70 aces.
Honorable mention
Aaron Bagalawis, Mojave
Treyden Baltazar, Coronado
Kaden Co, Liberty
Jayden Elliazar-Keiki, Shadow Ridge
Ben Fife, Palo Verde
Dallas Hashimoto, Sky Pointe
Jacob Hutchings, SLAM! Nevada
Tucker Jenkins, Sky Pointe
Makai Kelley, Sky Pointe
Gibson Lamoreaux, Boulder City
Quintrell McGee, Mojave
Zion Moore, Shadow Ridge
Hunter Perkins, Cheyenne
Gunnar Robinson, Arbor View
Thomas Rowley, Coronado
Easton Smith, Desert Oasis
Spencer Stolworthy, Moapa Valley
Cooper Swenson, Centennial
Parker Teal, Centennial
Toller Trummell, Foothill
Jordan Valdez, Liberty
Owen Wenger, Arbor View
Luke Wilkinson, Coronado
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Marner scored 16 seconds later, when his backhanded shot from near the wall in the right face-off circle was inadvertently knocked into the net by Carolina defenseman Sean Walker, giving Vegas a 2-0 lead.
Marner made it 3-0 at 14:32, 11 seconds after he hit the right post on a breakaway. Brayden McNabb kept the puck in the zone and found Marner low behind all five Carolina skaters, where he scored off a forehand-to-backhand deke for his second goal in 3:50 and Vegas’ third in 4:06.
“‘Nabber’ just coming in on that pinch, just the patience and play he made to me to allow me to get around the net was phenomenal,” Marner said.
Marner’s third goal came off another breakaway. He got loose past Alexander Nikishin, took a pass from Hertl, skated into the right circle and made it 4-0 with a far-side slap shot that went in off Andersen’s blocker at 16:52.
Bussi stopped his penalty shot early in the third to keep it a 4-0 game.
“I’m thinking we need to score that and I’m not lying to you because they came back and scored four,” Tortorella said. “I’m thinking we need another one just to keep on going.”
Martinook made it 4-1 at 7:03, cashing in on a strong forecheck by Seth Jarvis before getting hit from behind by Cole Smith.
“I just think we needed something good to happen,” Martinook said.
Hall cut the deficit to 4-2 at 7:29. Sebastian Aho stole the puck from McNabb in the offensive zone and from below the right circle sent a backhanded pass across to Hall, who scored from the far post.
Staal made it 4-3 at 7:42, scoring from the lower part of the left circle on a deflection of Jaccob Slavin’s shot off the left-wing half-wall.
Carolina also scored three goals on consecutive shots in the third period of Game 2 on Thursday.
Svechnikov tied it 4-4 at 18:18, scoring a power-play goal with Bussi pulled for the extra skater to make it a 6-on-4 situation. After the puck went to the net and got loose, Carolina forward Nikolaj Ehlers was pushed in as Svechnikov found it in the slot and shoved it into the net.
“I’ve experienced a lot of games in playoffs. I haven’t experienced one like this,” Tortorella said. “We could do nothing wrong in the second period and probably did everything wrong in the third period.”
But the game didn’t end there. It continued for 25 minutes and 38 seconds of overtime, until Theodore did the right thing, got the bounce and the reward.
“Not how we drew it up,” Vegas forward William Karlsson said, “but we’ll take it.”
NOTES: Carolina forward William Carrier left the game in the second period with an upper-body injury and did not return. Brind’Amour did not have an update on his status. … The Hurricanes lost in overtime for the first time in the playoffs this season (6-1). … McNabb played with a full cage because of facial injuries he sustained in the first period of Game 2, when he was struck in the face by an Ehlers slap shot. The defenseman played 35:47, finished with two assists, including the setup for Theodore’s winner, and was plus-3.
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