Autistic Children Have Different Guts
Managing Editor's Note: We'd beg to differ on the autistic children also suffer from gastrointestinal disorders, but so far the connection, if any remains unclear but this is worth noting:
(Ivanhoe Newswire)-- An interesting observation has been made that many autistic children have a different kind of bacteria in their intestinal tract than non-autistic children do.
Brent Williams and colleagues at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University found that bacteria belonging to the group Sutterella are one of the major populations of microorganisms living in the gut of some autistic children. Sutterella was not found in tissue samples from non-autistic children.
It is an enigma what the correlation is between the developmental disorder autism and the existence of Sutterella. Jorge Benach, Chairman of the Department of Microbiology at Stony Brook University and a reviewer of the report is quoted as saying, "Sutterella has been associated with gastrointestinal diseases below the diaphragm, and whether it's a pathogen or not is still not clear. It is not a very well-known bacterium."
Frequently, autistic children also suffer from gastrointestinal disorders, but so far the connection, if any remains unclear. Autism itself is still poorly understood.
"The relationship between different microorganisms and the host and the outcomes for disease and development is an exciting issue," Christine A. Biron, the Brintzenhoff Professor of Medical Science at Brown University and editor of the study was quoted as saying.
"This paper is important because it starts to advance the question of how the resident microbes interact with a disorder that is poorly understood."
The finding that Sutterella is uniquely present in the gut of autistic children is intriguing, but further work is needed to make any definite conclusions.
Benach is quoted as saying, "It is an observation that needs to be followed through."
SOURCE: mBio®, January 2012
Sutterella does not do what Lactobaccillus does.
As in it does not break down glucose
and it does not make spirit of amber -- that is a more poetic name than succinic acid.
But it is used in the Krebs cycle to couple with Co Q 10 -- you know the stuff that all the mitocondrial doctors recommend people with mitochondria diseases - should take in huge amounts costing 300 dollars a month.
Posted by: Benedetta | May 27, 2014 at 10:01 PM
My son had frequent stomach/acid reflux problems for years before he was finally correctly diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome. I cut out the cassein and gluten as soon as I read about it. Got him on a strict Vitamin B complex regimen every day too. And I give him melatonin to sleep through the night, keeps him on schedule. Abilify stabilized him, Fluoxetine has rid him of the deep depression, so his nerves are so much better now. He still has autistic spectrum disorder, but his gut problems are gone! I have always had a kettle drum for a stomach and I actually get more upset stomachs per year than he does now :)
Posted by: aspiesmom | February 13, 2012 at 01:27 PM
wford
I went to a Dan Dr., even though I'm an adult and they helped me anyways. I love them they've made my life WAY better. No more endless rashes, ear infections, and I'm about to start IVIG b/c of my broken immune system. I also do epsolm salt baths and take all the vitamins they want me to and my quality of life has gone way way up.....more adults on the spectrum should go to Dan Doctors all they've done is help me.
Posted by: Carly | January 15, 2012 at 04:05 PM
This is a long and time consuming reference to read and study, but it is informative. The Sutterella bacteria is mentioned in points throughout the information sets. Gene issues are at times claimed and may be the case in their studies. What is causing the gene effects is still open to discussion to my mind. Their information does agree with the take parents have shared about their kids with Autism.
AUTISM-ASSOCIATED BIOMARKERS AND USES THEREOF
http://www.sumobrain.com/patents/wipo/Autism-associated-biomarkers-uses-thereof/WO2010147714.html
Anyone whos has looked at Sutterella wadsworthensis and its relation to the bodily function of diacylglycerol-glycerol-3-phosphate 3-phosphatidyltransferase please feel free to contibute. It is my current focus, but I am not making good headway yet.
Sutterella - ATP:glycerol 3-phosphotransferase Glycerokinase ifno.
http://www.uniprot.org/uniprot/E7H1L8
http://www.uniprot.org/uniprot/E7H2A8
http://www.uniprot.org/uniprot/E7H3U0
Is there a bacterial/human gene interaction going on here at the lest gene expression? Or is it just metabolic? Could their be mutations occurring in intestinal cells?
Opportunity and Means: Horizontal Gene Transfer from the Human Host to a Bacterial Pathogen
http://mbio.asm.org/content/2/1/e00005-11
Posted by: Visitor | January 15, 2012 at 03:40 PM
My son age 38 has paralyzed bowels. Had a megacolon problem early on. Numerous impactions ruined his bowels. An institution didn't help. Wouldn't follow a bowel training program even though I warned them what could happen if they didn't do a toileting program that had been designed. Said they didn't get paid for toilet training so they stopped doing it. Never told me. Thought they'd get away with it until he had a final impaction that ruined his bowels. In Texas you can't sue the institutions because of a silly statute called Sovreign Immunity. Can't sue the king? What king?
Posted by: Martha Moyer | January 15, 2012 at 10:41 AM
Sounds curiously similar to What Dr. Wakefield was onto...these kids have gut issues.....this is where the research should expand. The cause of the gut issue is still up for debate....my guess is that there is more than one cause. However, very curious that these issues are becoming apparent and diagnosed right around the age of two and after many of these children have received many vaccines in a short amount of time. But wait, we may need one more genetic study...just to make sure....and to stall for more time so that we can continue to vaccinate many more children while the jury is still out.....sorry, just a release of frustration that the wheels of science are grinding so slowly while Rome burns.
Posted by: Janet Keith | January 15, 2012 at 08:56 AM
WFord that is terrible! I am so sorry.
I hope the doctors are giving some helpful treatments.
Have you tried diets that avoid food like white flour?
Posted by: Benedetta | January 14, 2012 at 10:01 PM
Hi Amanda Blinn
Thanks, the epsome salt baths is very good suggestion. I noticed that the pharmacist in town, and her sister are doing it for their kids.
Posted by: Benedetta | January 14, 2012 at 08:18 PM
It's great to see some gut research being done on our kids! A definite step in the right direction!
Posted by: tiredmom | January 14, 2012 at 08:06 PM
I have high fucnct autism and have very bad bowel problems a colonoscopy found inflammation,polyps, tumors, and ulcerated mucosa and I am only 21. I wonder if I have a GI bug too.
Posted by: WFord | January 14, 2012 at 07:35 PM
Well, since they also state that Sutterella is found in older dogs but not young ones, this inclines me to believe that Sutterella is just another opportunistic infection. It is well known in the autism biomed arena that children with autism are full of opportunistic infections, which are infections that many people get exposed to, but only populate and become a problem in those with under-working immune systems. It is well known in the autism recovery field that those with autism have damaged immune systems. So, unless Sutterella can cause developmental delay in otherwise healthy folks, it's just another one of the many infections found in those with autism.
Posted by: Heidi N | January 14, 2012 at 05:56 PM
Hi Bendetta. I appreciate your posts so much! Our autistic son is 15 and the more we do to help his gut (the word sugarless comes to mind just as a start!) the more we reduce his autistic symptoms. Because the gut is the place having trouble, we also use his skin to help get suppplementation done--transdermal skin creams and bath salts. We are now using a magnesium bath salt due to his DAN dr. trying to increase mag uptake during puberty. Above all we manage Candida. It affects EVERYTHING, probably in healthy people too, but our son is a Canary! Amanda
Posted by: Amanda Blinn | January 14, 2012 at 05:53 PM
To "I'm confused":
The Managing Editor italicized the quoted text in question.
My take is that the ME believes that the gut/autism connection is more certain than the Ivanhoe Newswire reporter indicates.
Posted by: nhokkanen | January 14, 2012 at 04:58 PM
And I have to share this for what it is worth.
If you look at a lot of these immune diseases you find that there are the genetic kind and the "acquired" Kind.
As we recently found out with my sister-in-law.
She has mysthensis gravis and it is not genetic but "acquired"
If you go to the web sites and read about it the
"acquired" kind responds to treatment much better ---- well that is a relief (how much better are they talking about?)
Posted by: Benedetta | January 14, 2012 at 01:00 PM
Sincerely said "Cystic fibrosis patients often have GI problems due to an intestinal environment that is hospitable to bacterial growth.
It would not surprise me at all if another genetic disorder had similar effects."
I don't know the intent behind that statement but I feel like it is misleading. For the record, not all people with cystic fibrosis have bacterial overgrowth. The genetic mutation in cystic fibrosis causes the body's mucus to be very thick and sticky; the mutation itself does not cause bacterial overgrowth.
GI problems in people with cystic fibrosis result from a damaged pancreas that is not able to release the necessary digestive enzymes. This leads to malnutrition, failure to grow and eventually death if medical intervention isn't utilized.
Autism and cystic fibrosis are both too serious for anyone to be using them as a way to muddy the waters and divert attention. It is a shame, though, that the medical community hasn't rallied around the autism community as it did the cf community. The outcome for a child born today with cystic fibrosis is very good with some very effective treatments being available. Cystic fibrosis is an example of a genetic disease that has a much, much improved prognosis due to effective medical treatment. Maybe the CDC and NIH should use the cystic fibrosis model in their "attempt" to find the answers to autism.
Posted by: Shelly | January 14, 2012 at 12:53 PM
It will be interesting to find out if the presence of Sutterella bacteria in the gut of children with autism are seen as a cause for autism, or are seen as a result of autism. Sutterella bacteria has been implicated in other inflammatory, gastrointestinal diseases, such as Crohn's disease.
Posted by: Rachael | January 14, 2012 at 11:07 AM
Sincerely;
It does not surprise me that Cystic fibrosis also has microbes out of balance. In this case it is genetic - yes, but that don't make everything genetic.
When you have a child that if fine and then regresses after a vaccine, or you have an adult that is fine for half a life time and then develops alizheimers or demenita, or even an young adult of 20 years old developing bipolar, or schizophrenia -- it points more to environmental than genetic. Esp if it is all increasing.
At one time there was village in South America in which everyone was developing Alizeheimer, and the researchers were there in droves studing them as a genetic disorder -- This was back in the 70s, and was before it became epidmenic in the United States.
Posted by: Benedetta | January 14, 2012 at 10:49 AM
Dr. Wakefield and all the gastro docs already know the answer to this. It is the metabolism.
*Why is it that the first sign that diabetics have is yeast infections?
*Why does a lot of Alizheimers patients have C-Diff a clostridium bacteria.
*Why does some kids with autism have an over growth of the clostridium bacteria.
*Why does patients with mitrochondria myopathy (carbs are sloppily being broken down into glucose) have yeast infections?
*Why did I have yeast infections for years following tetanus shots.
*Why is it some people do not have enough of a bacteria called O. Formigenes and develop kidney stones?
*Why do people that have an overgrowth of yeast sometimes have kidney stones?
It is like a bunch of blind men feeling only certain areas of an elephant, but they are deaf and mute too, because at least the blind men did talk to one another.
Posted by: Benedetta | January 14, 2012 at 10:37 AM
I'm confused:
"Managing Editor's Note: We'd beg to differ on the autistic children also suffer from gastrointestinal disorders, but so far the connection, if any remains unclear but this is worth noting:"
Explain please. Why do you differ with this paper?
Posted by: I'm confused | January 14, 2012 at 09:55 AM
Cystic fibrosis patients often have GI problems due to an intestinal environment that is hospitable to bacterial growth.
It would not surprise me at all if another genetic disorder had similar effects.
Posted by: Sincerely | January 14, 2012 at 07:22 AM
"The finding that Sutterella is uniquely present in the gut of autistic children is intriguing, but further work is needed to make any definite conclusions"
The finding that Sutterella is "uniquely present in the gut of autistic children" is far more than merely "intriguing".
At the very least .. it is "highly significant" .. making any further work "urgently" needed .. so we can finally begin unravelling the mystery of how resident microbes interact with a disorder that has been "poorly understood" for too many decades.
Posted by: Bob Moffitt | January 14, 2012 at 06:20 AM