Did you know that there is a growing belief that the gut microbiome drives autism? Autism, as you probably know, describes several different conditions, which cause people to have challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviors, speech and nonverbal communication.
Could it be related to the health of the gut microbiome as a popular belief states? A new study led by Mater Research and The University of Queensland questions this hypothesis.
Autistic people often have gut problems, but these conditions are not linked in a way some people think they are. Image credit: MissLunaRose12 via Wikimedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Believe it or not, there are actual scientifically-researched reasons to believe that gut microbiota and autism might be related. In fact, there are some experimental microbiome-based interventions such as faecal microbiota transplants and probiotics, being tried to minimise autistic behaviours. This peculiar belief stems from findings that autistic children have high rates of gut problems. Furthermore, there are several new studies confirming that there is a strong relation between gut microbiota and the brain. So could it be that a diet or a faecal microbiota transplant could alleviate some of the symptoms of autism?
Well, that doesn’t seem to be the case in this new study, conducted in Australia. Scientists analysed genetic material from stool samples of 247 children, including 99 children diagnosed with autism. They’ve identified more than 600 bacterial species, but only one of them could be associated with autism spectrum disorder – other ones do not seem to be that much different from healthy people and those who are living with autism. So it seems that gut microbiota and its health are not driving autism and experimental trials of, for example, transplanting faecal microbiota from non-autistic donors to autistic people, do not have a strong basis. So what’s the problem with autistic people and their more usual changes in the gut microbiome?
Scientists can actually explain why autistic people sometimes have more problematic gut microbiomes – they are fussy eaters. Andrew Whitehouse, Autism CRC Research Strategy Director, one of the authors of the study, said: “These hugely important findings provide clear evidence that we need to help support families at mealtimes, rather than trying fad diets”. Scientists say that those experimental interventions are premature and they would need more research to be done to even be considered.
Conflicting results and different advice are not actually helpful in any way. People are always looking for the optimal solution to their health problems. In many cases, simple, unsupported solutions appear to have no scientific basis and can even be dangerous or at least disappointing. But, of course, more research is welcome in this area.
Source: University of Queensland