Fecal Transplants May Yield Lasting Benefits in Autism

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https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/874970

I found this story bizzare so thought I'd share this s**t story

Not so bizarre, actually.

My mother considered a "fecal transplant" for her Crohn's Disease.

The theory is that you "get rid" of the impurities in your bowels, and build up new, "clean," intestinal flora (mostly "good" bacteria).

I saw a video a few years ago about fecal transplants being used to treat people with C. difficile, a potentially deadly intestinal infection that is notoriously difficult to treat. The idea is that the "good" bacteria added from feces taken from a healthy person will out-compete the "bad" bacteria, bringing their numbers back down to a level the body can handle.

I can't seem to read the article without creating an account on the Web site (which I don't want to do because I don't need them sending me emails all the time), but I've heard that there's a hypothesis that autism is at least partially caused by some sort of imbalance in gut flora. If that hypothesis is correct, then fecal transplants may help restore the proper balance of gut flora and reduce autism symptoms. I'm guessing that's what the article is about. (For me personally, at least, I have no reason to believe my autism is caused by gut flora imbalance - I have no sort of digestive issues or anything, so I have no reason to think it would do any good for me.)

If you read Goldfish's posts, you'll see that he has a belief that "bad" intestinal flora can cause autistic symptoms. He proposes a diet to offset the effects of these "bad" intestinal flora, and thereby lessen "autistic" symptoms.

When I was very young, the smell of vomit was omnipresent. This was because I constantly vomited. Hence, in my case, an "intestinal" cause can at least be theorized.

I don't have an account so don't why it wants you to create one

Here is the same article on a different website https://www.rxlist.com/script/main/art. ... key=201336

But like you said if you don't have GI issues it may not make a difference

Last edited by SaveFerris on 27 Jan 2018, 5:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I didn't mean to suggest I don't think that's the case for anyone. I know GI issues are fairly common in people on the autism spectrum, so it makes sense that there may be some connection. It's even possible that I do have some sort of gut flora imbalance that causes autism but not GI issues - I just don't have any evidence to support that. I think it's possible that what's the primary cause of autism for one person isn't necessarily the primary cause for another, because so many things can potentially affect the brain.

I've read Goldfish's posts, and looked into trying a low salicylate diet as a first step like he suggested, and if that helped at all, I'd try the other things he mentioned, but looking at all the things that are high in salycilates, and taking into consideration that I'm also a vegetarian, I'm really not sure what I'd still be able to eat, especially if I also cut out dairy and gluten, so I decided not to try that unless I have any evidence to suggest it would help me in particular.

Thank you, I can see the article on that site. I don't know if maybe the other one worked differently for me because I'm on my phone.

That is absolutely so. Autism has many causes---most of which have nothing to do with "gut bacteria."

Goldfish's diet worked for him; it does not mean it will work for others.

You're right not to take a chance on something which could potentially harm you. You are not Goldfish; you are Dragons anddemons. And you two have different bodies which reach to any substance in different ways.

I think I'll pass... I'm fine having Tourette's / being an aspie.

What a load of... well, you know.

Seriously, I don't know what's more stupid, this revolting quack doctor pseudoscience that gets worse every day, or the gullible idiots who think it actually works whose numbers increase every day.

These are actual research studies. It’s not some doctor making claims it’s looking and reported on the data.
Yogurt has beneficial bacteria and it is used to help with diseases like depression. There is definitely gut brain connections.

There have been quite a few reports over the last few years showing good gut bacteria connects to good health in all people. I think it's only which things in particular it helps with the most that is being decided not whether it's good for health. I haven't come across anything showing any negatives to good gut bacteria so it makes sense for everyone to aim for it. There are other ways to get good gut bacteria though than this. I think I'll stick to the fermented stuff first and avoid antibiotics.

Sounds like a worthy thing to try if it may help. I've seen mention of using it for treating IBS and Crohn's disease.
Just keep in mind this little section:

There needs to be further studying done before making a clear statement about it being an effective treatment for autism.

Not bizarre at all. I’ve been telling this forum this stuff for 7 years and predicted years ago that fecal transplants would be used to treat autism - because autism is caused by gut dysbiosis.

Nope, I haven’t had a feca transplant done myself.. yet - but I’m open to it and might look into it this year.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british- ... -1.5420048

Experimental and risky

The risk is in not screening/testing donor samples to ensure there aren’t any undesirable bacteria or parasites.

In the not so distant future, FMT will become a go-to treatment for autism & there will be standardized processes & procedures to ensure safety. They’ll be approved and regulated by Health Canada and the US FDA and via various Colleges of Physicians.

In the meantime, before that can happen there will be many more studies and a lot more data collected for the empirical evidence necessary to approve all of these things. A slow, but unfortunately necessary, process.

The biggest issue I have with this guy is his price tag. It should be a fraction of that, like maaaaybe $2500-3000 for the FMT portion, not $12,500.00 USD. IMO, he’s doing good work & is medically well intentioned, but he seems to be doing a little profiteering. Oh well, as it becomes more mainstream and more practitioners perform FMT prices will come down/be regulated like other medical services.

And in my experience it is WAY BETTER to live life with asd treated than not, so Booooo to that woman quoted at the end of the article who suggests parents shouldn’t seek to treat their childrens’ autism. It IS an ailment that can and should be treated IMO as the younger the better so those kids have the best shot at a normal life.