By Amir Khan
An autism breakthrough may be sitting in your gut, according to a new study published in the journal PLOS ONE. The gut bacteria of autistic children is vastly different than that of typical children, and researchers say that bringing their gut bacteria into line with a typical child could help doctors better treat autistic kids.
"One of the reasons we started addressing this topic is the fact that autistic children have a lot of GI problems that can last into adulthood," study author Rosa Krajmalnik-Brown, PhD, a researcher with Arizona State University, said in a statement. "Studies have shown that when we manage these problems, their behavior improves dramatically."
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Researchers compared the gut bacteria of 20 autistic and 20 healthy children, and found that autistic children not only had far less gut bacteria, but also had much lower diversity. Prevotella, a bacteria thought to play a role in regulating the gut microbiome, was found in conspicuously low levels in the stomachs of the autistic children, according to the study. Researchers theorize that a lack of prevotella, coupled with the little diversity in the gut, may be the root cause of the gastrointestinal problems that often affect afflict autistic children.
"We believe that a diverse gut is a healthy gut," Krajmalnik-Brow said in a statement.
This lack of diversity could also lead to inflammation, says Robert Melillo, MD, a neurologist and author of the book The Scientific Truth About Preventing, Diagnosing, and Treating Autism Spectrum Disorders -- and What Parents Can Do Now. Fixing their gut bacteria could help reduce the inflammation throughout the body.
"People with autism have an overactive immune response they develop antibodies against too many foods, chemicals and even their own tissue," he said. "Identifying those substances and eliminating them from the child's diet or reducing their exposure to these antigens reduces the inflammation and reduces many of the symptoms of autism."
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