The gut-brain axis — clinical study results

Abstract

The aim of the study was to investigate the intestinal microbiome in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The study was observational, cohort, comparative. All the patients included in it were divided into 2 groups. The first (comparison group main) group (n=43) consisted of children preschool aged of 1 and 2 health groups; the second (n=38, main group) children with an established diagnosis of ASD. It was stated that children with ASD are characterized by the most frequent (p=0.001) detection of intestinal dysbiosis; the detection of significant disorders in the form of intestinal dysbiosis of 3-4 degrees (p=0.001); a significant decrease in the total bacterial mass of the intestinal microbiota (γ=0.29, p=0.006); a decrease in the representation of the main representatives of the philometabolic nucleus of the microbiota: Lactobacillus (p<0.05); Bifidobacterium (p<0.05); Bacteroides (p<0.05) and a number of individual producers of polyunsaturated fatty acids (0.001<p≤0.050). A negative relationship was found between the integral indicator of autism severity and the representation of typical E.coli (R=0.57; F=4.17; p<0.045). In that way Autism spectrum disorders in preschool children are associated with changes in intestinal biocenosis. The structure of microbiome differed significantly from that typical for healthy children. There is a relationship between the severity of dysbiotic disorders and the severity of cognitive disorders in absent-minded.