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While many people are aware of the behavioural symptoms associated with autism, probably not so many realize that autistics often also have gastrointestinal problems. With that in mind, scientists at the University of Arizona recently conducted a study in which a group of 18 autistic children received fecal transplants from donors with healthy gastrointestinal systems. Not only did the procedure help to "rebalance" their gut flora, but it also improved their behaviour.
First of all, a fecal transplant is just what it sounds like. Feces from one person are screened for disease-causing organisms, and then introduced into the recipient's digestive tract. In this case, the recipients first took antibiotics for two weeks, to wipe out their existing gut flora. They then received the fecal transplant initially in a high-dose liquid form, after which it was delivered in a lower-dose powder mixed into smoothies.
Of all the possible ways I could imagine to treat autism, that was not one of them...
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Wednesday January 25 2017, @09:43PM
Surely, the various critters living in the gut can be introduced some other way. I can see walking into a pharmacy, to get a prescription filled for a pound of poop. "Take before eating." Yuk . . .
Wonder if there is any correlation between autism and cleanliness fetishists. Mothers and fathers are so afraid the child might get a germ, they are constantly washing themselves and their child with anti-bacterial soap. The kid never gets a chance to ingest microbes, either good or bad.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 25 2017, @09:49PM
That could explain some of the increase in reported cases. But, then again, there's also been a massive increase in attention to the point where there's plenty of additional cases reported due to increased awareness and somewhat increased support.
It remains to be seen whether this will replicate, but it should already been known that excessive antibiotics are a serious problem and that we need to take the bacteria that live on and in us more seriously. They do a ton of useful things and yet, we allow doctors to kill them when in most cases they aren't the problem.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 25 2017, @10:18PM
You might think differently if you've ever tried by phone to convince a doctor to give you an antibiotic prescription. They feel like the guardians of our precious antibiotic supply, while farmers can use it indiscriminately. Next time I have a UTI, I'll just eat some chicken feed.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 25 2017, @11:53PM
I have the feeling that, like the Disney Movie effect and other things, it'll be a positive change for SOME ASD people, but not others.
And that should be OK, but it won't be. We [especially in the US] want ONE answer, ONE treatment, etc., and then try to come down on The System when a possible treatment protocol works only for a small subset of people with the "same" problem.
We see that with some genetics-based cancer therapy protocols already.
Got Cancer X? OK... well, you happen to have the mutation pattern where we don't have an effective treatment protocol for you, even though there's this drug that seems to make that cancer into a manageable, but chronic, condition for the 70% with this cancer who don't have the mutation pattern you have.
Throw insurance company money that actually pays for the treatments and procedures...