Could autism be treatable?

Researchers from Arizona State University have just published highly promising findings on a potential treatment for autism: microbiota transfer therapy.

Autism spectrum disorders include all neurodevelopment abnormalities, particularly those resulting in communication disorders and stereotyped behaviour, but also gastro-intestinal conditions.

Based on our knowledge that children on the autism spectrum present imbalances in their gut microbiota, these researchers studied the effects of transplanting beneficial bacteria into a small number of patients.

Two months after the transplant, the gastro-intestinal problems of these young patients were reduced by 80%, but that’s not all. Two years later, only 17% of children presented neurodevelopment abnormalities classifying them as severely autistic, compared with 83% at the beginning of the study. Larger-scale studies must now be conducted to confirm these findings.