Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a rapidly growing neurodevelopmental disorder. Both probiotics and oxytocin were reported to have therapeutic potential; however, the combination therapy has not yet been studied. We conducted a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled, 2-stage pilot trial in 35 individuals with ASD aged 3–20 years (median = 10.30 years). Subjects were randomly assigned to receive daily Lactobacillus plantarum PS128 probiotic (6 × 1010 CFUs) or a placebo for 28 weeks; starting on week 16, both groups received oxytocin. The primary outcomes measure socio-behavioral severity using the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) and Aberrant Behavior Checklist (ABC). The secondary outcomes include measures of the Clinical Global Impression (CGI) scale, fecal microbiome, blood serum inflammatory markers, and oxytocin. All outcomes were compared between the two groups at baseline, 16 weeks, and 28 weeks into treatment. We observed improvements in ABC and SRS scores and significant improvements in CGI-improvement between those receiving probiotics and oxytocin combination therapy compared to those receiving placebo (p < 0.05). A significant number of favorable gut microbiome network hubs were also identified after combination therapy (p < 0.05). The favorable social cognition response of the combination regimen is highly correlated with the abundance of the Eubacterium hallii group. Our findings suggest synergic effects between probiotics PS128 and oxytocin in ASD patients, although further investigation is warranted.

Background: Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS) is a rare genetic disorder associated with developmental delay, obesity, and neuropsychiatric comorbidities. Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis has demonstrated anti-obesity and anti-inflammatory effects in previous studies.Aim: To evaluate the effects of Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis probiotics supplementation on anthropometric growth, behavioral symptoms, and gut microbiome composition in patients with PWS.Methods: Ethical Approval was issued by the Internal Review Board (IRB) of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University (Review-YJ-2016-06). We conducted a 12-week, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in 68 patients with Prader-Willi syndrome aged 11 months−16 years (mean = 4.2 years old) who were randomly assigned to receive daily B. lactis-11 probiotics (6 × 1010 CFUs) or a placebo sachet. Weight, height, ASQ-3, ABC, SRS-2, and CGI-I were compared between the two groups at baseline and at 6 and 12 weeks into treatment. Gut microbiome data were analyzed with the QIIME 2 software package, and functional gene analysis was conducted with PICRUSt-2.Results: We found a significant increase in height (mean difference = 2.68 cm, P &lt; 0.05) and improvement in CGI-I (P &lt; 0.05) in the probiotics group compared to the placebo group. No significant change in weight or psychological measures were observed. Probiotic treatment altered the microbiome composition to favor weight loss and gut health and increased the abundance of antioxidant production-related genes.Conclusions: The findings suggest a novel therapeutic potential for Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis probiotics in Prader-Willi syndrome patients, although further investigation is warranted.

Given the significance of validating reliable tests for the early detection of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), this systematic review aims to summarize available evidence of neuroimaging and neurophysiological changes in high-risk infants to improve ASD early diagnosis. We included peer-reviewed, primary research in English published before May 21, 2021, involving the use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), electroencephalogram (EEG), or functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) in children with high risk for ASD under 24 months of age. The main exclusion criteria includes diagnosis of a genetic disorder and gestation age of less the 36 weeks. Online research was performed on PubMed, Web of Science, PsycINFO, and CINAHL. Article selection was conducted by two reviewers to minimize bias. This research was funded by Massachusetts General Hospital Sundry funding. IRB approval was not submitted as it was deemed unnecessary. We included 75 primary research articles. Studies showed that high-risk infants had divergent developmental trajectories for fractional anisotropy and regional brain volumes, increased CSF volume, and global connectivity abnormalities on MRI, decreased sensitivity for familiar faces, atypical lateralization during facial and auditory processing, and different spectral powers across multiple band frequencies on EEG, and distinct developmental trajectories in functional connectivity and regional oxyhemoglobin concentrations in fNIRS. These findings in infants were found to be correlated with the core ASD symptoms and diagnosis at toddler age. Despite the lack of quantitative analysis of the research database, neuroimaging and electrophysiological biomarkers have promising value for the screening of ASD as early as infancy with high accuracy, which warrants further investigation.