Why not try these?
Why not try these?
People with autism have an abnormal gut microbiota. Two years ago, researchers tried to transplant healthy microbiota into sick children. Today, they note a clear improvement in their health.
The causes of autism are not only genetic Autism is today the behavioural disorder with the highest growth rate
Autism places the people who suffer from it in a real situation of social handicap. And its prevalence seems to be increasing. Ten years ago, specialists estimated that one in 150 births was affected. Today, they mention one birth out of 80 in France and even one out of 60 in the United States. This increase can be attributed, at least in part, to a broader definition of the disease under the term autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and to more reliable diagnoses of autism.
Nevertheless, the question is on the minds of researchers. For the time being, they propose treatments based on behavioral therapy, dietary approaches or psychiatric drugs. These treatments are not very effective. However, researchers from Arizona State University (USA) have published encouraging results from their work on a new therapy: the transfer of intestinal microbiota.
Indeed, for some time, many teams have been studying the link between gut microbiota and various pathologies. “We have noticed a strong link between the microbes that live in our intestines and the signals that travel to our brain,” explains Rosa Krajmalnik-Brown. This makes some people think that an altered intestinal flora could induce ASD.
(IN CHILDREN WITH AUTISM, THE GUT MICROBIOTA APPEARS TO BE LESS DIVERSE THAN IN OTHER CHILDREN AND EVEN LACKS SOME OF THE MOST IMPORTANT STRAINS OF BACTERIA. YET RESEARCH SUGGESTS THAT OUR GUT MICROBIOMES AFFECT BRAIN COMMUNICATION AND NEUROLOGICAL HEALTH. © SHIREEN DOOLING, ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY)
In addition to their behavioral problems, autistic people very often suffer from gastric problems, which intrigues specialists in the field. A team from the California Institute of Technology (USA) has studied the subject in mice. Their results, published in the journal Cell, reveal once again the important influence of the intestinal microbiota on health.
A bacterium that treats autism in mice
In a previous study, the researchers made mice with autistic symptoms. To achieve this feat, they injected chemicals that mimicked a viral infection into pregnant mice. Their experiment worked because the babies were born less sociable and more anxious than the other mice.
As in humans, these autistic mice had holes in their intestines and were more prone to gastric problems. The scientists wondered what role the digestive microbiota played in the development of autistic symptoms. To answer this question, they collected gut microbes from autistic mice and analyzed them using genomic technologies. They showed that the sick mice had less Bacteroides fragilis bacteria in their digestive system than healthy animals.
Even better: by feeding the autistic rodents with the bacteria in question, the authors were able to improve their behavior and digestive problems! “It’s amazing to see that just by adding this bacterium you can reverse the symptoms of autism,” says John Cryan, a pharmacist at University College Cork in Ireland.
4EPS, the molecule that makes people autistic
But how can bacteria in the digestive tract influence brain activity? This is not the first time such observations have been made. Experiments have suggested, for example, that the intestinal flora influences the behavior of humans and animals. A recent study even revealed the benefits of probiotics in the treatment of depression. However, until now, no one had really dug deeper into the issue.
To understand the phenomenon, researchers analyzed blood samples from healthy and autistic mice. They found that a molecule called 4-ethylphenylsulphate (4EPS), was present at 46 times higher levels in animals with autistic disorder. They also showed that this chemical compound had a structure similar to that of para-cresol, a molecule found in significant quantities in people with autism. The scientists then injected it into healthy mice. This treatment had the desired effect since the mice began to behave like autistic mice, repeating the same movement several times or squeaking in an unusual way.
This work is very encouraging and deserves to be explored in more detail. In my opinion, the results are strong enough to see probiotics as a new therapeutic solution,” says Stephen Collins, a researcher at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada. The next step is to understand how the bacteria in the gut flora interact to produce 4EPS and influence the brain.”
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