Research Roundup is a monthly newsletter from N of One’s UK-based science writer, Paul Whiteley, PhD. Each month we summarize a few research papers on a variety of topics in one simple, easy-to-read paragraph. It’s our hope that by skimming these each month, you will broaden your knowledge topics currently being explored by researchers and perhaps find information helpful in your journey of navigating a complex autism landscape.
Predicting neurodevelopmental conditions such as autism via gut bacteria?
Researchers from Sweden following over 16,000 children during the first five years of life observed that differences to the gut microbiome - the collected bacterial populations that inhabit the gastrointestinal (GI) tract - might offer some important clues to the risk of developing various neurodevelopmental conditions, including autism. Drawing on data derived from the All Babies in Southeast Sweden (ABIS) initiative, various biological samples including stool and umbilical cord blood samples were collected alongside behavioral and other demographic data. Some 7% of the cohort were subsequently diagnosed with a neurodevelopmental condition including autism spectrum disorder (ASD), speech disorders and learning (intellectual) disability. There were some pronounced bacterial differences in those children who were eventually diagnosed with a neurodevelopmental condition, even when accounting for confounding variables such as diet and other things. Moreover, where ear infections were recorded requiring antibiotic treatment, the risk of subsequent speech disorders and ADHD was also markedly increased. More work is needed but the research holds out the prospect of possible diagnostics and even preventative treatments based on early gut microbiome development.
[note from J. Rodakis: Many parents have reported autistic regression following multiple courses of antibiotics for ear infections early in life – good to see this begin to make it to the scientific literature.]
Eosinophilic gastrointestinal disease (EGD) and autism: immune systems and gut barriers
Eosinophilic gastrointestinal disorders (EGID) - immune-mediated conditions characterized by eosinophilic infiltration of specific parts of the gut (note: Eosinophils are one of several white blood cells that are part of the immune system)- seem to be over-represented alongside a diagnosis of autism according to new data out of Brazil. Drawing on studies cumulatively including over 750,000 participants, researchers estimated that one in five patients with EGID also has autism. Specific mention of eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE), a specific type of EGID, was also made by authors; something that tallies with various previous studies and may very well be something to consider when feeding issues are present alongside autism. Authors rightly focus on the ‘allergic reactions’ features that encapsulate EGID but also mention how GI integrity will also be affected by such conditions. Preferential screening for eosinophilic disease potentially accompanying autism is implied.
Yet more on Loss-of-Autism-Diagnosis (for some, not everyone)
‘Loss of autism diagnosis’ or ‘non-persisting autism’ is a rising topic in research following some high profile recent findings suggesting that for some, autism may not be lifelong. The latest research being recently published by researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, in New York add to that: “Of the 136 patients referred for evaluation with a previous diagnosis of Autism, 13 (9.5%) did not meet the criteria for Autism any longer after multidisciplinary evaluations.” This is important and mirrors similar rates found in other independent studies. The aim of the study was to look at a cohort of children diagnosed as autistic at age 7 or later. Their findings suggested that the non-persisting group tended to have lower rates of accompanying intellectual (learning) disability, as other have also suggested. Those in the non-persisting autism group were not however totally free of psychopathology as issues such as speech and language disorders and attention- deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) persisted. Further studies are needed to ascertain why such non-persistence occurs and whether the state of ‘autism free’ is fixed or a temporary respite from reaching diagnostic cut-off points for autism or other diagnoses.
Abstract: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38656162
“Viral meningitis/encephalitis may be an independent risk factor for ASD”
Analyzing data from the JMDC-DB - “the largest commercial medical claims database in Japan” - researchers concluded that contracting and developing viral meningitis and/or encephalitis is a risk factor for a subsequent diagnosis of autism. The large dataset included data for around a quarter of a million mother-child pairs. Their findings continued to hold a link between said infections and autism risk. However, there is further work to do in this area to build on the idea that infection and/or immune system responses to infection may have far-reaching consequences on child behavior and development.
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