mSphere: Regulating the microbiome can treat autism

November 16, 2020 // -- One in 54 children is diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and that number is rising.
the disease, which usually occurs in early childhood, can cause confusion, lifelong developmental disorders, and affect social skills, communication, relationships and self-control.
new study, published in the journal mSphere, Rosa Krajmalnik-Brown, James Adams and colleagues highlight the importance of bacteria in the human gut for the diagnosis and treatment of ASD.
(Photo: www.pixabay.com) Autism is considered a "spectrum disorder" characterized by a series of stereotyped behaviors that can affect people's lives to varying degrees.
, despite the genetic factors involved, the full picture of the underlying causes of ASD remains unclear.
despite its prevalence and far-reaching social impact, there is currently no FDA-approved treatment for the disease.
earlier study, researchers observed the effects of a revolutionary method called microbial metastasis therapy (MTT) on ASD symptoms.
the procedure transplanted intestinal bacteria from healthy providers into ASD patients within 7-8 weeks, a process that produced significant changes in the ASD intestinal tract, improving gastrointestinal and behavioral symptoms of the disease.
note that symptom improvement persisted within two years of the completion of the study.
study looked more closely at plasma and fecal metabolites altered through MTT.
"It's important to study the metabolites of microorganisms because it helps us understand how microbes affect gastrointestinal symptoms and behavior," said Rosa Krajmalnik-Brown, a professor at Arizona State University's School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment, a researcher at the Swette Center for Environmental Biotechnology in Biological Design, and director of the newly formed Center for Healthy Biological Design for Microbial Design.
can also be used as biomarkers.
" Indeed, an analysis of 619 plasma metabolites in this new study showed that ASD children had unique metabolic characteristics prior to MTT surgery.
In trying to comb through complex bacterial interactions, it is important to study metabolites in the blood and faeces carefully, rather than simply making a list of microbial species in the gut, which can form collaborative and competitive networks depending on the circumstances of the environment.
According to this procedure, levels of key metabolites in the plasma become more similar to those of normally developing children, suggesting that this is due to the adjustment of bacterial populations to conditions more similar to those in the normal healthy gut, including a significant increase in microbiode.
further research will help to improve understanding of the complex and important interactions between the gut microbiome and ASD-related neurological characteristics, and will help fine-tune MTT therapy or other microbial-based therapies to be more effective in alleviating ASD symptoms.
() Source: Managing the microbiome raises new hope for autism Original source: Dae-Wook Kang et al, Distinct Fecal and Plasma Metabolites in Children Autism Spectrum Disorders and Their Modulation Micro afterbita Transfer Therapy, mSphere (2020). DOI: 10.1128/mSphere.00314-20