Autism Therapy: probiotics

definition of probiotics: Dietary supplements that contain helpful bacteria that are thought to be important for good health.

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Complementary Alternative Medicine for Children with Autism: A Physician Survey
Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, by Golnik, AE, and Ireland M., published in 2009, summarized Jan 8, 2010

Some physicians may recommend complementary alternative medicine (CAM) therapies for children with autism.

A survey was offered to 3,100 pediatricians and family medicine practitioners, and about 1 out of 5 responded to the survey (539 physicians). The survey showed that 49% of the doctors encouraged multi-vitamin therapy for children with autism. And 19 to 25% of them encouraged essential fatty acids (EFAs), melatonin, and probiotics as therapy for autism. Physicians discouraged parents from using some therapies. Therapies that were discouraged include chelation (61%), anti-infection treatments (57%), and secretin (43%). Many of the doctors (76%) also urged immunizations according to the recommended schedule. The authors said that doctors may want to ask families about therapies that families might be using, even if the parents do not bring up the topic.


Food Allergy and Autism Spectrum Disorders: Is There a Link?
Current Allergy and Asthma Reports, by Jyonouchi, H., published in 2009, summarized Sep 15, 2009

Probiotics may help to relieve gut problems in children with autism.

This review article describes proposed causes of gut problems in children with autism and describes the risks and benefits of treatments. There are a lot of data to support that children with autism have a chronic immune response in their gut. Many parents treat the gut problems with the gluten-free, casein-free (GFCF) diet even though there is not a lot of data to support the use of the diet. While there is some concern that the GFCF diet may not provide all needed vitamins to children, this concern is not backed by data. Treatment with probiotics makes sense, but it has not been proven to work in scientific studies of children with autism.


Probiotics: Delineation of Prophylactic and Therapeutic Benefits
Journal of Medicinal Food, by Kaur, IP, Kuhad A., Garg A., and Chopra K., published in 2009, summarized Aug 13, 2009

Probiotics may be helpful for digestive problems that can occur in some children with autism.

Probiotic therapy involves taking supplements or foods that contain "good bacteria" that live and thrive in a healthy gut. The two most common good bacteria are Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium. This review article describes how some people do not have enough good bacteria in their guts and may be helped by probiotic therapy. People with autism who also have gut problems (gas, bloating, diarrhea, inflammatory bowel disease) may find probiotic therapy very helpful. Probiotics may also be helpful for a broad range of health issues, such as diabetes, obesity, and allergies.


Complimentary and Alternative Medicine Treatments for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders
Child Adolesc Psychiatric Clin N Am, by Levy, SE, and Hyman SL, published in 2008, summarized Jan 26, 2009

Doctors and patients may benefit if doctors review the science behind complimentary and alternative medicine (CAM) treatments for autism.

The best therapies for autism are special education, speech therapy, social skills therapy, and applied behavior analysis (ABA therapy). This review article describes the common use of CAM treatments for autism and grades each one based upon the scientific research that has been done. Secretin has been well studied as a treatment for autism and it has been shown not to help. Music therapy, vitamin B6/magnesium, dimethylglycine, and others have been studied a little bit. There are no studies about whether yoga, folate, or probiotics are able to help with the symptoms of autism.


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video of Dr who specializes in completly curing autism with diet and probiotics

Nov 13, 2007 by Anonymous

Have you seen this video by a Doctor in England that has a book out now on how she cured her son's severe autism with a special diet and probiotics. She says that one of the main causes of autism is taking antibiotics and that one needs to replace the good bacteria in the digestive system in order to heal the digestive system and that will cure the autism. Here the free you tube video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zpe4kcvaesw
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gut-Psychology-Syndrome-Depression-Schizophrenia/dp/0954852001


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