Probiotics for Gastrointestinal Symptoms and Quality of Life in Autism: A Placebo-Controlled Pilot Trial

Arnold, L. Eugene; Luna, Ruth Ann; Williams, Kent C.; Chan, James; Parker, Robert A.; Wu, Qinglong; Hollway, Jill A.; Jeffs, Adelina; Lu, Frances; Coury, Daniel L.; Hayes, Caitlin; Savidge, Tor

doi:10.1089/cap.2018.0156

Cited by 103 publications

(118 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…West et al (28) detected considerable decrease in constipation and diarrhea after probiotic therapy. Our results are also in line with those reported in a recent pilot study performed in 13 ASD children, 3-12 years of age, which showed significant improvement in GI complaints in children treated with DSF compared with children treated with placebo (46).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

“…Our result suggests that ASD children with and without GI symptoms could represent two different populations and that probiotics interventions could potentially provide different effects, likely due to distinct microbiota targets. Previous studies have already suggested that differences in microbiome (45,46) are independent from GI dysfunction, and Luna et al (45) argued that larger and well-designed studies are still needed to determine whether microbial composition may stratify ASD children beyond the GI symptoms. Within this framework, a positive impact of probiotics on autism severity in children without pre-existing GI symptoms supports the complexity of the microbiota-gut-brain axis warranting further studies on this subgroup of ASD subjects.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Effects of Probiotic Supplementation on Gastrointestinal, Sensory and Core Symptoms in Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Randomized Controlled Trial

et al. 2020

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The microbiota-gut-brain axis has been recently recognized as a key modulator of neuropsychiatric health. In this framework, probiotics (recently named "psychobiotics") may modulate brain activity and function, possibly improving the behavioral profiles of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). We evaluated the effects of probiotics on autism in a double-blind randomized, placebo-controlled trial of 85 preschoolers with ASD (mean age, 4.2 years; 84% boys). Participants were randomly assigned to probiotics (De Simone Formulation) (n=42) or placebo (n=43) for six months. Sixty-three (74%) children completed the trial. No differences between groups were detected on the primary outcome measure, the Total Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule-Calibrated Severity Score (ADOS-CSS). An exploratory secondary analysis on subgroups of children with or without Gastrointestinal Symptoms (GI group, n= 30; NGI group, n=55) revealed in the NGI group treated with probiotics a significant decline in ADOS scores as compared to that in the placebo group, with a mean reduction of 0.81 in Total ADOS CSS and of 1.14 in Social-Affect ADOS CSS over six months. In the GI group treated with probiotics we found greater improvements in some GI symptoms, adaptive functioning, and sensory profiles than in the GI group treated with placebo. These results suggest potentially positive effects of probiotics on core autism symptoms in a subset of ASD children independent of the specific intermediation of the probiotic effect on GI symptoms. Further studies are warranted to replicate and extend these promising findings on a wider population with subsets of ASD patients which share targets of intervention on the microbiota-gut-brain axis.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Probiotic Supplementation on Gastrointestinal, Sensory and Core Symptoms in Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Randomized Controlled Trial

et al. 2020

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“…A probiotic (Vibosome containing Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium ) was administered to 13 ASD children (ages 3–12 years) to treat GI symptoms for a 19-week trial period. The Vibosome treatment showed significant improvement in GI complaints ( p = 0.02) [ 39 ]. Another possible solution for ASD-GI comorbidities could be administration of vitamin D, because ASD individuals are often dietarily deficient [ 12 ].…”

Section: Gut Microbiota In Neurodevelopmental Disordersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gut instincts: vitamin D/vitamin D receptor and microbiome in neurodevelopment disorders

2020

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The gut microbiome regulates a relationship with the brain known as the gut–microbiota–brain (GMB) axis. This interaction is influenced by immune cells, microbial metabolites and neurotransmitters. Recent findings show gut dysbiosis is prevalent in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) as well as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). There are previously established negative correlations among vitamin D, vitamin D receptor (VDR) levels and severity of ASD as well as ADHD. Both vitamin D and VDR are known to regulate homeostasis in the brain and the intestinal microbiome. This review summarizes the growing relationship between vitamin D/VDR signalling and the GMB axis in ASD and ADHD. We focus on current publications and summarize the progress of GMB in neurodevelopmental disorders, describe effects and mechanisms of vitamin D/VDR in regulating the microbiome and synoptically highlight the potential applications of targeting vitamin D/VDR signalling in neurodevelopment disorders.

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“…Similarly, the Shabaan study [172] also found a decrease in ATEC scores, the biggest improvement being in the health and physical behavior category which decreased from 36.83% to 27.1%. Finally, a study done on thirteen children aged from 3 to 12 years old and who were suffering from ASD, anxiety, or GIS showed that that the administration of the Visbiome formulation, containing 8 different strains mainly lactobacillus, was safe and provided health improvements [178]. Altogether, the evidence presented here supports the continued investigation of different probiotics in preventing and managing ASD; this may explain the multiple new, ongoing, clinical human trials using probiotics to prevent/treat ASD, which are summarized in Table S4.…”

Section: Clinical Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Promising Role of Probiotics in Managing the Altered Gut in Autism Spectrum Disorders

Abdellatif

McVeigh

Bendriss

et al. 2020

IJMS

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Gastrointestinal symptoms (GIS) have been reported repeatedly in people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and studies have reported interesting correlations between severity of behavioral and gastrointestinal symptoms. Growing evidence indicates that the gut microbiota in ASD is altered with various shifts described at different taxonomic levels, pointing to the importance of considering the gut–brain axis in treatment of these disorders. Probiotics are live beneficial bacteria that are ingested as food or customized pills. These beneficial bacteria, when added in sufficient amounts, can correct the dysbiosis. Because probiotics have shown success in treating irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), it is plausible to investigate whether they can induce alleviation of behavioral symptoms as well. Probiotics show, in some clinical studies, their potential benefits (1) in improving gastrointestinal dysfunction, (2) in correcting dysbiosis, (3) in consequently reducing the severity of ASD symptoms. This review compiles data from selected studies that investigate these benefits and the mechanisms that mediate these effects, which include the production of metabolites, hormones, and neurotransmitters and the regulation of pro-inflammatory and regulatory cytokines. Future research based on more randomized, controlled studies with a larger population size and standardized use of strains, concentration of probiotics, duration of treatments, and methods of DNA extraction is still needed in this area, which may lead to more robust results.

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Probiotics for Gastrointestinal Symptoms and Quality of Life in Autism: A Placebo-Controlled Pilot Trial

Cited by 103 publications

References 46 publications

Effects of Probiotic Supplementation on Gastrointestinal, Sensory and Core Symptoms in Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Effects of Probiotic Supplementation on Gastrointestinal, Sensory and Core Symptoms in Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Gut instincts: vitamin D/vitamin D receptor and microbiome in neurodevelopment disorders

The Promising Role of Probiotics in Managing the Altered Gut in Autism Spectrum Disorders

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