Cellular malnutrition and Intestinal Dysbiosis in Autism
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. The Behavioural Neurotherapy Clinic, in
conjunction with Bioscreen has shown its commitment to ADHD and children
with autism by helping to unravel the science surrounding biochemical
changes found in these children. This has been done by presenting research
and disseminating information at conferences such as: The 2nd International
Mind of a Child conference in Sydney, Autism Victoria Annual conference in
Melbourne and many others throughout Australia bringing together leading
researchers and clinicians.
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.
The clinic staff in conjunction with Bioscreen Medical Laboratory at
Melbourne University has been investigating gastrointestinal and bodily
changes seen in abnormal faecal and urinary amino acid tests of autistic
children. The results of these tests and investigations are helping health
practitioners to formulate treatments for children with autism, which have
resulted in significant improvements if not normalisation in gut function
and amelioration of Autistic symptoms. Bioscreen Study: Intestinal Bacteria in
Children with Autism
Urinary amino acid test and
Bioscreen 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 around 80-90%
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
What does this mean for the treatment of children with autism?
Health practitioners can utilise the Pathlab amino acid Urine test and
the Bioscreen faecal tests to help identify alterations in 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 (e.g. 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 analysis
Faecal analysis
through Bioscreen is available from some health professionals with training
in Nutritional and Environmental Medicine and through the Behavioural
Neurotherapy Clinic.
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. The Behavioural Neurotherapy Clinic, in
conjunction with Bioscreen has shown its commitment to ADHD and children
with autism by helping to unravel the science surrounding biochemical
changes found in these children. This has been done by presenting research
and disseminating information at conferences such as: The 2nd International
Mind of a Child conference in Sydney, Autism Victoria Annual conference in
Melbourne and many others throughout Australia bringing together leading
researchers and clinicians.