Cited by 369Gut microbiota and healthGastrointestinal motility and disordersAutism Spectrum Disorder Research

A prebiotic intervention study in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs)

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Grimaldi, Roberta, Gibson, Glenn R., Vulevic, Jelena, Giallourou, Natasa, Castro-Mejía, Josué L., Hansen, Lars H., Leigh Gibson, E., Nielsen, Dennis S. +1 more·2018·Microbiome

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Different dietary approaches, such as gluten and casein free diets, or the use of probiotics and prebiotics have been suggested in autistic spectrum disorders in order to reduce gastrointestinal (GI) disturbances. GI symptoms are of particular interest in this population due to prevalence and correlation with the severity of behavioural traits. Nowadays, there is lack of strong evidence about the effect of dietary interventions on these problems, particularly prebiotics. Therefore, we assessed the impact of exclusion diets and a 6-week Bimuno® galactooligosaccharide (B-GOS®) prebiotic intervention in 30 autistic children. RESULTS: The results showed that children on exclusion diets reported significantly lower scores of abdominal pain and bowel movement, as well as lower abundance of Bifidobacterium spp. and Veillonellaceae family, but higher presence of Faecalibacterium prausnitzii and Bacteroides spp. In addition, significant correlations were found between bacterial populations and faecal amino acids in this group, compared to children following an unrestricted diet. Following B-GOS® intervention, we observed improvements in anti-social behaviour, significant increase of Lachnospiraceae family, and significant changes in faecal and urine metabolites. CONCLUSIONS: To our knowledge, this is the first study where the effect of exclusion diets and prebiotics has been evaluated in autism, showing potential beneficial effects. A combined dietary approach resulted in significant changes in gut microbiota composition and metabolism suggesting that multiple interventions might be more relevant for the improvement of these aspects as well as psychological traits. TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT02720900 ; registered in November 2015.

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  • Microbial-based interventions, including fecal transplantation, antibiotics, and probiotics, have shown promise in a limited number of human trials.

    “microbial-based interventions, including fecal transplantation, antibiotics, and probiotics, have shown promise in a limited number of human trials (Grimaldi et al., 2018; Kang et al., 2017b; Sandler et al., 2000).”

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Authors
Grimaldi, R., Gibson, G. R., Vulevic, J., Giallourou, N., Castro-Mejía, J. L., Hansen, L. H., Leigh Gibson, E., Nielsen, D. S., & Costabile, A.
Affiliations
  • Clasado BioSciences (United Kingdom) (GB)
  • University of Reading (GB)
  • Imperial College London (GB)
  • University of Copenhagen (DK)
  • Aarhus University (DK)
  • University of Roehampton (GB)
Corresponding author
Grimaldi, Roberta
Venue
Microbiome
Published
2018-08-02
Volume
6
Issue
1
Pages
133-133
ISSN
2049-2618 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2887688374
Cited by
369
References
73
Citations by year
2026: 26 · 2025: 46 · 2024: 47 · 2023: 58 · 2022: 60 · 2021: 47 · 2020: 51 · 2019: 31 · 2018: 3
FWCI
11.74
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Microbiome (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, other-oa)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Research at the University of Copenhagen (University of Copenhagen) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • CentAUR (University of Reading) (acceptedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
  • Spiral (Imperial College London) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Gut microbiota and health
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Gastroenterology › Gastrointestinal motility and disorders
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Autism Spectrum Disorder Research
Keywords
autism spectrum disorder, prebiotics, galactooligosaccharides, elimination diet, gluten-free diet, casein-free diet, gut microbiota, gastrointestinal symptoms, abdominal pain, Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, Bifidobacterium, urinary metabolites, antisocial behavior, children
MeSH terms
Autism Spectrum Disorder, Bacteria, Child, Child, Preschool, Double-Blind Method, Feces, Female, Humans, Male, Urine, Gastrointestinal Tract, Prebiotics

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