And from autism too!
Intestinal microbiome transplant eased autism symptoms
Elizaveta Ivtushok, N+1
American scientists have published the results of a two-year study of the effect of the transplanted intestinal microbiome on the symptoms of autism spectrum disorder among 18 children. In addition to the improvement of the gastrointestinal tract, which was observed immediately after transplantation at the beginning of the study, the scientists reported significant behavioral improvements. Article Kang et al. The long-term benefit of Microbiota Transfer Therapy on autism symptoms and gut microbiota is published in the journal Scientific Reports.
At the moment, there is no effective treatment for autism spectrum disorder, at best, it is possible to stop the symptoms with the help of long-term behavioral therapy.
In January 2017, a group of scientists led by Dae-Wook Kang launched a long-term project to study the effect of intestinal microbiome transplantation in healthy people on the symptoms of autism spectrum disorder – both gastrointestinal and behavioral. During the experiment, the participants (there were 18 people in total) drank a two–week course of antibiotics and underwent intestinal cleansing, after which they were transplanted with the fecal microbiome of healthy people - in large numbers once and as a daily treatment for the following weeks. During the observation period, the participants' gastrointestinal symptoms improved: constipation, diarrhea and abdominal pain disappeared. The retention of positive results was observed for eight weeks, and behavioral symptoms also improved.
In a new paper, the authors of the original study reported that the positive effect of therapy persisted for the next two years after the initial experiment. The most significant and interesting from the point of view of autism therapy were the results of the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) survey, which indicates the severity of symptoms characteristic of autism spectrum disorder in children. According to this scale, the severity of symptoms became 47 percent less than before the start of treatment, and two years ago, immediately after the end of treatment, this indicator was equal to only 23 percent.
Changes in the symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (red – severe, yellow – moderate, blue – light) before, immediately after and two years after transplantation. At the top – the questionnaire data, at the bottom – the assessments of clinicians. Drawings from an article in Scientific Reports – VM.
The composition of the human intestinal microbiome is not only related to the state of the gastrointestinal tract and the diseases that are associated with it: studies show that human intestinal bacteria provoke multiple sclerosis, play a role in the occurrence of stroke, and are also associated with the occurrence of depression and the overall quality of human life. Accordingly, it is assumed that fecal microbiome transplantation can be either a preventive or therapeutic remedy for these diseases and disorders. The study shows that using the microbiome of healthy people to treat symptoms of autism spectrum disorder is a safe and effective method (at least in the framework of the first pilot study).
In 2013, the first fecal bank was opened in the USA: it stores samples of human excrement for transplantation, as well as use in scientific research.
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