TUESDAY, July 9, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- New research offers what could become a surprising way to diagnose whether a child has autism: Simply check the makeup of their gut microbiome. In a study published July 8 in the journal Nature Microbiology , scientists analyzed more than 1,600 stool samples from children ages 1 to 13 and found several distinct biological “markers” in the samples of children with autism. The finding means that unique traces of gut bacteria, fungi, viruses and more could one day become a diagnostic tool, lead study author Qi Su , a researcher at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, told the New York Times.
Such a tool could help professionals diagnose autism sooner, quickly getting children treatments that are more effective at younger ages, he added. The idea was tantalizing to some experts. “Too much is left to questionnaires,” Sarkis Mazmanian , a microbiome researcher at the California Institute of Technology, told the Times .
“If we can get to something we can measure -- whatever it is -- that’s a huge improvement.” For decades, researchers have searched for a reliable indicator of autism, with limited success. The U.
S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved two diagnostic tests based on eye-tracking software, the Times reported. Some researchers have more recently started investigating whether human stool, which offers a window into the trillions of fungi, bacteria and viruses living in the intestines, might offer a new way.
