Finding suggests that a routine procedure could help doctors identify condition and provide support earlier
Rates of autism have soared in recent decades, largely because of greater awareness and a broadening of the criteria used to diagnose the conditionThe finding suggests that a routine stool sample test could help doctors identify autism early, meaning people would receive their diagnosis, and hopefully support, much faster than with the lengthy procedure used in clinics today.
Studies in twins suggest that 60-90 per cent of autism is down to genetics, but other factors contribute, such as older parents, birth complications and exposure to air pollution or particular pesticides in pregnancy. Signs of autism range from children not responding to their name and avoiding eye contact, to adults who find it difficult to understand what neurotypical people are thinking and getting anxious if their daily routine is disrupted.
Writing in Nature Microbiology, the researchers describe how gut microbes differed markedly in children with and without autism. In all, 51 types of bacteria, 18 viruses, 14 archaea, seven fungi, and a dozen metabolic pathways, were altered in autistic children. Armed with machine learning, a form of artificial intelligence, the scientists were able to identify the autistic children with up to 82 per cent accuracy, based on 31 microbes and biological functions in the digestive system.
If the researchers’ thinking is correct, and disruption to the microbiome does affect the severity of autism, it raises the prospect of personalised interventions that use diet or live bacteria known as probiotics to establish a more diverse microbiome in those diagnosed with the condition.
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