From: hound23x@gmail.com   
      
   Autism and the Microbiome: Will Fecal Transplants Be the Next "AWAKENINGS?    
      
      
    Microbiome    
      
   By Teresa Conrick    
      
   Awakenings  is a 1990 American drama film based on Oliver Sacks' 1973 memoir   
   of the same title. It tells the true story of British neurologist Oliver   
   Sacks, fictionalized as American Malcolm Sayer (portrayed by Robin Williams),   
   who, in 1969, discovered    
   beneficial effects of the drug L-Dopa. He administered it to catatonic   
   patients who survived the 1917-28 epidemic of encephalitis lethargica. Leonard   
   Lowe (played by Robert De Niro) and the rest of the patients were awakened   
   after decades of catatonia    
   and have to deal with a new life in a new time.    
   I have a very ill daughter who is diagnosed with AUTISM.  Megan also has a   
   seizure disorder and an Awakeningsautoimmune diagnosis.  More and more   
   research is pointing to the MICROBIOME as the key to health and disease. Since   
   witnessing Megan regress into    
   autism after vaccination, we have been on a journey to restore health and   
   functioning to her brain and body, thus the similarity to Awakenings. I have   
   gathered much research showing that both MERCURY   and VACCINES  can alter the   
   MICROBIOME and that is a    
   big concern with parents.    
   The studies on the microbiome are fascinating and may be showing us the   
   potential of vastly IMPROVING symptoms and possibly even a CURE for those   
   diagnosed with Autism. Now some of you may be asking why putting a disgusting   
   thing like feces into someone    
   would help in anything, but especially in Autism. Let's look at what the   
   research shows.    
   Altered Bacteria Shows Microbiome is Big Part of Autism    
      
   "Gut-brain link grabs neuroscientists - Idea that intestinal bacteria affect   
   mental health gains ground."    
   Similarly, a 2013 study from Mazmanian's lab found that a mouse model with   
   some features of autism had much lower levels of a common gut bacterium called   
   Bacteroides fragilis than did normal mice3. The animals were also stressed,   
   antisocial and had    
   gastrointestinal symptoms often seen in autism. Feeding B. fragilis to the   
   mice reversed the symptoms. The group also found that the mice with these   
   symptoms had higher levels of a bacterial metabolite called 4-et   
   ylphenylsulphate (4EPS) in their blood,    
   and that injecting that chemical into normal mice caused the same behavioural   
   problems.    
      
   Potential involvement of gut microbes in ASD  etiology has been speculated for   
   more than a decade. Many pathogenic gram-negative bacteria contain   
   lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in their cell walls, which can cause damage in   
   various tissues including the brain [   
   11]. LPS-induced inflammation in the brain increases permeability of the   
   blood-brain barrier and facilitates an accumulation of high levels of mercury   
   in cerebrum, which may aggravate ASD symptoms [6]. A test in rats showed that   
   prenatal LPS exposure    
   decreased levels of glutathione [12], which is an important antioxidant   
   involved in heavy metal detoxification in the brain. The down-regulated   
   synthesis of glutathione may increase the vulnerability of children to ASD and   
   other neurologic disorders,    
   such as Friedreich's Ataxia [13]. Indeed, a recent pyrosequencing analysis   
   showed that gram-negative bacteria, Desulfovibrio and Bacteroides vulgatus,   
   were detected at higher levels in autistic children [14]. On the other hand,   
   Clostridium, a gram    
   positive bacterium, has also been widely studied in the context of ASD [15],   
   [16] because it produces exotoxins and propionate. In a study on rats which   
   was recently reported, propionate worsened ASD-like behavior [17]. In   
   addition, Clostridium difficile    
   produces p-cresol, which can cause depletion of glutathione [18]. Vancomycin   
   and ampicillin, antibiotics targeting cell wall damage, significantly affect   
   the physiology and structure of gut microbiota; especially on gram-positive   
   bacteria such as    
   Clostridium difficile [19]. One study showed that in a small scale clinical   
   setting, vancomycin treatment resulted in temporary improvement of autistic   
   symptoms in children with late-onset autism [20].    
      
   And more evidence of high levels of abnormal bacteria in Autism:                
   Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder where there is   
   evidence of gastrointestinal (GI) disturbance in many affected individuals.   
   Several studies have demonstrated an altered GI microbiota in children with   
   ASD compared with    
   controls [1-4]. Recently, Williams et al.[5] reported a significantly higher   
   prevalence of Sutterella spp. in biopsies taken from the GI tract of ASD   
   children with GI disturbance compared to controls with GI disturbance.   
   Bacteria of the genus Sutterella    
   have been identified in canine and human feces [6,7]. Sutterella   
   wadsworthensis is noteworthy as it has been associated with some GI infections   
   in humans [8]..... In summary, we show further evidence of changes in the gut   
   microbiota of children with ASD,    
   now demonstrating that fecal abundances of Sutterella and R. torques are   
   altered...    
   "Studies implicate gut bacteria in autism"    
   Autism, with its constellation of behavioral and cognitive symptoms, might   
   seem to be all in the brain. But intriguing new studies suggest that some   
   aspects of the disorder might originate in the gut.    
      
   For decades, doctors have heard anecdotal reports that children with autism   
   have frequent gastrointestinal problems, suffering from bloating, abdominal   
   pain, constipation, diarrhea and more.    
      
   The latest research, conducted over the past several years, probes the   
   controversial possibility that whatever is amiss in the gut is not just a   
   symptom of autism, but one of the causes. The work is an offshoot of mounting   
   scientific interest in the    
   human microbiome, the stew of bacteria that make their homes in our   
   gastrointestinal tracts.    
      
   A new study, published 31 January in the Proceedings of the National Academy   
   of Sciences, suggests that these microbial residents may direct brain   
   development, ultimately shaping behavior1....A 2006 study revealed, for   
   instance, that 70 percent of    
   children with autism suffer from gastrointestinal problems, compared with only   
   28 percent of typically developing children2.    
      
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)