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Autism is a severe developmental disability that
affects children, their parents and families, as
well as the community as a whole. At present the
causal mechanisms of autistic behaviours are still
unclear but there is general agreement amongst health
professionals involved in helping families and children
that this disability has its basis in some type or
types of functional abnormality of metabolism. It
is both natural and understandable that parents,
families and concerned health practitioners wish
to maximise children’s health and much research
is currently being targeted at autism and related
developmental disorders.
Children with autism usually
have several bodily changes, in addition to behavioural
difficulties, associated with their condition. There
are changes in the gastrointestinal tract and some
amino acids, the building blocks of protein needed
by the body, are seen to be low or deficient. Inflammation
of the intestinal lining, and evidence of more permeable
gut are seen in studies of autistic children and
confirmed by clinical practitioners in their daily
work. Some autistic symptoms have been linked to
changes in gut bacteria following treatment with
antibiotics.
Bioscreen Study: Intestinal Bacteria in Children
with Autism
The Bioscreen urinary amino acid test and faecal
microbiology test was performed on 86 children with
autism. Results indicated a marked change in both
the amino acids metabolism and the normal intestinal
bacteria usually found in the large intestine of
healthy individual.
A healthy gastrointestinal tract is one that has
a particular set of bacteria living within it. Normally
it is difficult to change the number and type of
these healthy bacteria and they are remarkably stable
over many different populations around the world,
even though we live in different environments and
eat different diets. It is becoming widely recognised
that alterations in these bacteria can influence
our health. This is because bacteria in our digestive
tract produce many types of vitamins and nutrients/chemicals
that help our bodies to remain healthy. On the other
hand it is possible that if these bacteria are not
normally distributed, chemicals that are not helpful
to maintaining our health might be produced in larger
amounts and have a detrimental influence on us. That
is why so many bacterial supplements are now available,
like Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium,
in order to try and keep our intestinal tract healthy
when under stress or suffering from particular illnesses.
Aerobic and anaerobic bacteria
There are two main classes of bacteria in our large
intestines: aerobic bacteria, which need some oxygen
to survive, and anaerobic bacteria, which will die
in the presence of oxygen. The most common aerobic
bacteria, or aerobe, found in healthy individuals
is Escherichia coli ( E.coli)and
it accounts for 90-95% of all the aerobic bacteria.
The second most common aerobe is Enterococcus, although
it is a lot less common than E.coli at an
average of 5% in the Gut. In Bioscreen’s study
of autism the average amount of E.coli was
found to be quite low at approx. 56% compared to
the normal 90-95%. In about 22% of the children the
amount of E.coli was actually less than
10% which is quite an incredible finding if you are
a microbiology scientist.
There were also abnormal elevations in the amount
of Enterococcus found in the faeces. This
was found to be as high as 40% in children with autism
compared to the average of 5% in normal, healthy
individuals. In approx. 19% of the children the Enterococcus had
almost completely swapped places with E.coli,
being present at more than 95% of the aerobic bacteria.
Changes to the anaerobes, or bacteria that don’t
like oxygen, were evident. Normally, Bacteroides and Bifidobacteria are
the most abundant anaerobic bacteria in our large
bowel. What the study found was a significant decrease
in Bacteroides, and an increase in the number
of Bifidobacteria in the children’s
intestines compared to healthy control subjects
Urinary amino acids in Children with Autism
Analysis of the 36 children with autism's urine showed
definite reductions in amino acids such as serine,
tryptophan, and other amino and organic acids involved
in energy production, muscle development and excitatory
neurotransmission. Deficiencies in amino acids need
to be replaced to expect optimal body metabolism.
Tryptophan is of particular importance as it is an
indirect precursor of serotonin which is an important
brain and central nervous system neurotransmitter
and in the maintenance of gastrointestinal motions
and functions.
What does this mean for the treatment of
children with autism?
Health practitioners can utilise the Bioscreen urine
and faecal tests to identify alterations in body
biochemistry, microbiology and digestive capacity.
The nature of tests results from Bioscreen can provide
avenues for the identification of treatment protocols
that may involve; (a) normalisation of the gastrointestinal
bacteria through use of specific antibiotics, replacement
bacteria and nutritional supplementation (eg. very
specific probiotics and prebiotics); (b) supplementation
with individualised amino-acid supplements based
on deficiencies of amino acids found in the urine
test and; (c) supplementation with digestive enzymes,
electrolytes, and essential elements to help impaired
digestion and metabolism.
Tests repeated over time can build a picture of changes
that might occur with treatment and whether any significant
improvements are seen in the bodily state. Doctors
involved in the management of children with autism
utilising the testing expertise of Bioscreen for
clinical treatments are reporting positive gains
in both behavioural and other symptom complaints.
Bioscreen faecal and urine analysis
Faecal or urine analysis through Bioscreen is available
from some health professionals with training in Nutritional
and Environmental Medicine.
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