Gut bacteria that causes severe gastrointestinal problems around the time autistic behaviors begins to develop in children has been shown to leave a distinct marker in urine.

The study conducted by medical researchers working at the Imperial College London and the University of South Australia, examined 39 autistic children along with 28 of their non-autistic siblings and 34 unrelated children. They found significant differences in the urine of those children diagnosed with autism that is linked to metabolic changes that occur with certain types of clostridium. They hypothesized that these changes would appear in the urine, which was confirmed by using magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

One of the compounds identified, N-methyl nicotinamide (NMND) also plays a role in Parkinson’s disease. Further research is needed but if this proves to be a marker for autism, then treatment can begin at a much earlier age.

Why autistic children have different gut bacteria than non-autistic children is unclear and it is not known if the bacteria causes autism or some other process leads to these changes.

Autism affects approximately 3 to 6 children out of 1,000 with males four times more likely to be affected than females. It is a range of neurodevelopmental disorders along a continuum from mild to severe. The mild form of the disease is known as Asperger syndrome with the most severe known as Autistic disorder. The National Institutes of Health publish an Autistim Fact Sheet.

Symptoms of autism can appear in infants and toddlers and involve decrease in social interactions, delays in verbal and non-verbal communications. For more information about this research, follow this link.

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