From: 23x11.5c@gmail.com   
      
   Probiotics: Therapeutic Potential in Autism   
   Megan Brooks   
   December 12, 2013   
      
   EDITORS' RECOMMENDATIONS   
   Probiotics a Potential Treatment for Mental Illness   
   Autism Linked to Lower Levels of Distinct Gut Bacteria   
   Gluten Sensitivity Linked to Autism   
      
   DRUG & REFERENCE INFORMATION   
      
   Autism   
   Childhood Disintegrative Disorder   
   Asperger Syndrome   
      
   Probiotics may have therapeutic potential in autism spectrum disorder (ASD),   
   new research suggests.   
      
   A study conducted by investigators at the California Institute of Technology   
   in Pasadena shows that treatment with the human gut microbe Bacteroides   
   fragilis alleviates ASD-like behaviors and eases comorbid gastrointestinal   
   (GI) symptoms in a mouse model    
   of autism.   
      
   "Traditional research has studied autism as a genetic disorder and a disorder   
   of the brain, but our work shows that gut bacteria may contribute to ASD-like   
   symptoms in ways that were previously unappreciated," study investigator   
   Sarkis K. Mazmanian, PhD,    
   said in a statement.   
      
   The findings were published online December 5 in Cell.   
      
   Growing Evidence   
      
   For the study, the investigators explored gut-microbiome-brain interactions in   
   ASD using the maternal immune activation (MIA) mouse model of autism developed   
   at Caltech.   
      
   "The MIA model," said Dr. Mazmanian, "is founded upon an environmental risk   
   factor associated with human ASD and schizophrenia, namely, maternal infection   
   or inflammation. Modeling this risk factor in both mice and monkeys yields   
   animals that display the    
   core symptoms of ASD and schizophrenia."   
      
   The researchers discovered that offspring of MIA mice had defects in   
   intestinal integrity and alterations in the composition of the commensal   
   microbiota similar to those reported in some individuals with ASD.   
      
   "To our knowledge, this is the first report of an animal model for autism with   
   comorbid GI dysfunction," Elaine Hsiao, PhD, a senior research fellow at   
   Caltech and first author on the study, said in a statement.   
      
   They also found that oral treatment of MIA offspring with B fragilis corrects   
   gut permeability and alters microbial composition.   
      
   "Remarkably," B fragilis treatment also "ameliorates defects in communicative,   
   sterotypic, anxiety-like and sensorimotor behaviors," they report.   
      
   "B fragilis is known to confer anti-inflammatory effects on the immune system,   
   making it effective in treating symptoms of inflammatory bowel disease and   
   multiple sclerosis in mice," said Dr. Mazmanian.   
      
   "In addition to this effect, our new work reveals a novel mechanism by which B   
   fragilis treatment can confer beneficial effects on behavior, likely by   
   shaping the resident microbiota and correcting intestinal permeability --   
   called 'leaky gut.' By    
   correcting leaky gut, B fragilis may be reducing the levels of b   
   havior-altering microbial metabolites that escape into the circulation," he   
   added.   
      
   Evidence for gut-brain interactions is mounting. For example, as reported by   
   Medscape Medical News, a recent study in autistic children found distinctly   
   different levels of intestinal flora, which may increase their vulnerability   
   to pathogenic bacteria    
   and perhaps play a role in autism pathogenesis.   
      
   In the current study, Dr. Mazmanian and colleagues "propose the transformative   
   concept that autism, and likely other behavioral conditions, are potentially   
   diseases involving the gut that ultimately impact the immune, metabolic, and   
   nervous systems and    
   that microbiome-mediated therapies may be a safe and effective treatment for   
   these neurodevelopmental disorders."   
      
   Hypothesis Generating   
      
   Commenting on the findings for Medscape Medical News, Armin Alaedini, PhD,   
   from the Department of Medicine and the Institute of Human Nutrition, Columbia   
   University Medical Center, New York City, who was not involved in the study,   
   said the findings    
   provide "important information to the expanding body of evidence implicating   
   gut flora in the proper functioning of the brain and its potential involvement   
   in neuropsychiatric disorders."   
      
   Dr. Alaedini noted that the demonstration of increased intestinal permeability   
   and gut dysbiosis in a mouse model of autism and the amelioration of both   
   intestinal permeability and behavioral abnormalities upon treatment with human   
   commensal bacteria are    
   "novel and intriguing."   
      
   He said the study is "particularly relevant to autism, because GI symptoms are   
   thought to be a common feature in the disorder. The results might also help to   
   explain some of the observed immune abnormalities in autism."   
      
   For example, the elevated antibody response to dietary gluten and its   
   association with GI symptoms in children with autism, which was recently   
   reported by his group and covered by Medscape Medical News, may be directly   
   linked to increased intestinal    
   permeability and changes in gut microbiota.   
      
   "Another interesting feature of the study is that it shows certain serum   
   metabolites in affected mice, possibly increased because of GI barrier   
   defects, to be directly responsible for some of the behavioral symptoms. Taken   
   together, the data offer clues    
   regarding a potential mechanism for how commensal gut bacteria might link GI   
   symptoms, intestinal barrier function, and certain immune abnormalities with   
   behavioral deficits in a subset of individuals with autism," Dr. Alaedini said.   
      
   Ted Dinan, MD, PhD, professor of psychiatry who is also from the Alimentary   
   Pharmabiotic Centre at University College Cork in Ireland, said the study   
   "both builds on what we already know while at the same time helping to   
   integrate information obtained    
   from various studies. It has set up a series of hypotheses which are testable   
   in clinical populations. We need proper studies in patients evaluating barrier   
   function, metabolomics, and the possible therapeutic benefits of probiotics   
   such as B fragilis."   
      
   As reported by Medscape Medical News, Dr. Dinan's own research suggests that   
   probiotics may offer an alternative treatment option for depression and other   
   psychiatric disorders.   
      
   The study was supported through grants and fellowships from Caltech, Autism   
   Speaks, the National Institutes of Health, and the National Science   
   Foundation. The authors, Dr. Alaedini, and Dr. Dinan report no relevant   
   financial relationships.   
      
   Cell. Published online December 5, 2013. Full article   
      
      
   http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/817733   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)