New Trial Shows Encouraging Outcomes for ASD Treatment

The gut microbiota is an amazing portion of the human body; it performs an essential role in immunity and maintains our bodies healthy. New study indicates that the gut microbiome may even hold the key to a probable treatment for autism.

The gut microbiota is the range of microorganisms living within our body. We have 10’s of trillions of microbes residing in our guts, totaling over 3 million genes.

Our gut microbiomes are essential for our immunity and over-all health. They act as a obstacle against other dangerous microorganisms, and they assist with digestion and the production of some vitamins.

Earlier study has recommended that the composition of the microbiome impacts the development of specific diseases, which includes inflammatory bowel disease, irritable bowel syndrome, deadly bacteria infections, enterocolitis, and obesity.

Some research have even connected the composition and diversity of the gut microbiome with autism spectrum disorders (ASD).

New study, presented in the journal Microbiome, investigates autism treatment choices by enhancing the gut microbiome.

Enhancing the gut microbiome in ASD sufferers

The study, composed of an open-label clinical trial, was a combined effort in between Arizona State University (ASU), Ohio State University, and the University of Minnesota. The study team was led by James Adams, along with two other ASU professors: Rosa Krajmalnik-Brown and Dae-Wook Kang.

The team collected 18 study individuals with ASD, older between 7 and 16, who went through a 10-week therapy composed of antibiotics, bowel cleansing, and an prolonged fecal microbiota transplant.

More particularly, the researchers given an antibiotic therapy for 2 weeks, a bowel cleanse, and a fecal microbiota transplant that applied a high dose in the initial couple of weeks, and then reduced, daily doses for the leftover 8 weeks.

Fecal microbial transplantation is a kind of therapy shown to be efficient for dealing with Clostridium difficile infections. While in the procedure, fecal matter is gathered from the stool of a carefully selected, healthy donor and transplanted into the colon of a sufferer using a variety of approaches, which includes orally-administered capsules, colonoscopy, or endoscopy.

For this trial, investigators used a donor microbiome that comprised 1,000 different species of gut bacteria, and implemented a therapy regimen formerly shown to be efficacious in dealing with C. difficile infection.

The study engaged 14 days of therapy with vancomycin, which were followed by a 12-24 hour fasting period during which individuals had a bowel cleansing. Then, the gut microbiota was repopulated by providing a high dose of standardized human gut microbiota (SHGM) by mouth or rectally. Lastly, the sufferers obtained daily, lower doses of the SHGM, together with a stomach acid suppressant for 7-8 weeks.

Individuals were then medically followed for an additional 8 weeks after the treatment finished, to be able to analyze whether the effects of the therapy were short-term or long-lasting.

The therapy had promising, long-lasting results

The outcomes were considered “compelling” and “promising” by the investigators.

Particularly, the therapy showed an 80 % decrease of gastrointestinal symptoms formerly associated with ASD, along with considerable developments in behavioral ASD symptoms – like as sleep habits and social skills.