Mensa AG 2019

Can Changing Gut Bacterial Community Improve Gastrointestinal and Autism Symptoms? (Room Camelback)

03 Jul 19
6:00 PM - 7:15 PM

Tracks: Speaker

Changes in gut microbiota have been associated with weight loss, diabetes remission, and enhanced GI health in humans. Recent studies in human cohorts and mouse models have also demonstrated a link between gut microbiota and autism. Driven by these findings, we hypothesized that altering the gut microbiota in children with autism would improve gastrointestinal and behavioral symptoms. Fecal microbiota transplantation is a promising therapy to restore dysbiotic gut microbiota by transferring thousands of bacterial species to a recipient’s gut. We pioneered an autism-targeted, open-label clinical trial of a microbiota modification therapy that included a fecal microbiota transplant component. I will present an overview of the gut microbiome and some therapeutic approaches and share results of this promising trial. For more information, visit environmentalbiotechnology.org/krajmalnik-brown-lab.