title: Gastrointestinal microflora studies in late-onset autism.
abstract: Some cases of late-onset (regressive) autism may involve abnormal flora because oral vancomycin, which is poorly absorbed, may lead to significant improvement in these children. Fecal flora of children with regressive autism was compared with that of control children, and clostridial counts were higher. The number of clostridial species found in the stools of children with autism was greater than in the stools of control children. Children with autism had 9 species of Clostridium not found in controls, whereas controls yielded only 3 species not found in children with autism. In all, there were 25 different clostridial species found. In gastric and duodenal specimens, the most striking finding was total absence of non-spore-forming anaerobes and microaerophilic bacteria from control children and significant numbers of such bacteria from children with autism. These studies demonstrate significant alterations in the upper and lower intestinal flora of children with late-onset autism and may provide insights into the nature of this disorder.
authors.affiliation: Infectious Diseases Section, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, West Los Angeles, CA, USA. sidfinegol@aol.com
authors.forename: Sydney M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Finegold
authors.forename: Denise
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Molitoris
authors.forename: Yuli
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Chengxu
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Marja-Liisa
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Vaisanen
authors.forename: Ellen
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bolte
authors.forename: Maureen
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: McTeague
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sandler
authors.forename: Hannah
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wexler
authors.forename: Elizabeth M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Marlowe
authors.forename: Matthew D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Collins
authors.forename: Paul A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Lawson
authors.forename: Paula
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Summanen
authors.forename: Mehmet
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Baysallar
authors.forename: Thomas J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Tomzynski
authors.forename: Erik
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Read
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: Rial
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rolfe
authors.forename: Palwasha
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Nasir
authors.forename: Haroun
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Shah
authors.forename: David A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Haake
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Manning
authors.forename: Ajay
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kaul
mesh_terms: D017668:Age of Onset; D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003013:Clostridium / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D004064:Digestive System / Q000382:microbiology*; D006801:Humans