Parents and caregivers of autistic children have been saying it for decades, and now the scientific community is finally catching up with reality: gastrointestinal abnormalities are a common marker associated with the diagnosis of an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). And a new study recently published online in the journal, PLoS One, has specifically identified imbalanced and deficient gut flora as a major symptom, and potentially even a primary cause, of autism in many of the children diagnosed with the condition.

Researchers from Arizona State University (ASU) in Tempe came to this conclusion after evaluating several groups of children between the ages of 3 and 16. One of the groups was composed of 20 healthy children, while the other was composed of 20 autistic children. Fecal samples were taken from all the children and analyzed for probiotic, or healthy bacteria, content using a testing process known as pyrosequencing, which uses a special form of synthesis to analyze DNA.

Upon review of the obtained data, the team determined that children in the autistic group generally had a lower diversity of gut microbiomes compared to healthy children in the control group. The autistic children were also lacking in three specific types of gut bacteria responsible for breaking down carbohydrates and fermenting foods to make them digestible and their nutrients assimilable. These two variances in microbial composition shed new light on the physiological nature of what is otherwise a poorly understood condition.

"[We] demonstrated that autism is closely associated with a distinct gut microflora that can be characterized by reduced richness and diversity as well as by altered composition and structure of microbial community," wrote the study team, led by Dr. Rosa Krajmalnik-Brown, Ph.D. "Most notably, we also discovered that the genera Prevotella, Coprococcus, and unclassified Veillonellaceae were significantly reduced in autistic children."

You can view the study in its entirety here: http://www.plosone.org 

Source: Natural News