Vidcast: https://youtu.be/B8MTjm8lgMQ

Building on increasing evidence that the bacteria residing in our gastrointestinal system influence our brain function, a team of biotechnologists at Arizona State University report beneficial effects of gut bacterial manipulation on the behavior and GI symptoms of autistic subjects. Their latest report in the journal Scientific Reports catalogs the long-term success of Microbiota Transfer Therapy that is essentially the transfer of highly selected GI bacteria from healthy donors.

Autistic persons typically have not only behavioral issues but also gastrointestinal issues.  The Arizona group conducted longitudinal studies of 18 subjects who had undergone an intense regimen of gut bacteria transfer, known as microbiota transfer therapy or MTT, two years previously.

The results show that the MTT therapy course was associated with a continuing improvement in both psychological and gastrointestinal symptoms.  The 2 year post-therapy assessment showed a 47% reduction of autistic symptoms and a 58% reduction of gastrointestinal symptoms.  The data revealed a correlation between improvement in both spheres for any given patient.

These results are indeed exciting, and more studies are underway to define the best sources for the transferable bacteria.  Once a supply of such bacteria are available, this promising technique will surely spread.

Dae-Wook Kang, James B. Adams, Devon M. Coleman, Elena L. Pollard, Juan Maldonado, Sharon McDonough-Means, J. Gregory Caporaso, Rosa Krajmalnik-Brown. Long-term benefit of Microbiota Transfer Therapy on autism symptoms and gut microbiota. Scientific Reports, 2019; 9 (1) DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-42183-0

#autism #MTT #microbiome #fecaltransplant