Unit of Human Microbiome, Children's Hospital and Research Institute "Bambino Gesù", IRCCS, Piazza Sant'Onofrio 4, 00165 Rome, Italy.
Dipartimento di Gastroenterologia, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Largo A. Gemelli 8, 00168 Rome, Italy.
Nutrients. 2019 Nov 18;11(11):2812. doi: 10.3390/nu11112812.
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex behavioral syndrome that is characterized by speech and language disorders, intellectual impairment, learning and motor dysfunctions. Several genetic and environmental factors are suspected to affect the ASD phenotype including air pollution, exposure to pesticides, maternal infections, inflammatory conditions, dietary factors or consumption of antibiotics during pregnancy. Many children with ASD shows abnormalities in gastrointestinal (GI) physiology, including increased intestinal permeability, overall microbiota alterations, and gut infection. Moreover, they are "picky eaters" and the existence of specific sensory patterns in ASD patients could represent one of the main aspects in hampering feeding. GI disorders are associated with an altered composition of the gut microbiota. Gut microbiome is able to communicate with brain activities through microbiota-derived signaling molecules, immune mediators, gut hormones as well as vagal and spinal afferent neurons. Since the diet induces changes in the intestinal microbiota and in the production of molecules, such as the SCFA, we wanted to investigate the role that nutritional intervention can have on GI microbiota composition and thus on its influence on behavior, GI symptoms and microbiota composition and report which are the beneficial effect on ASD conditions.
自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）是一种复杂的行为综合征，其特征是言语和语言障碍、智力障碍、学习和运动功能障碍。一些遗传和环境因素被怀疑会影响 ASD 表型，包括空气污染、接触农药、母体感染、炎症性疾病、饮食因素或怀孕期间使用抗生素。许多 ASD 儿童表现出胃肠道（GI）生理异常，包括肠道通透性增加、整体微生物群改变和肠道感染。此外，他们是“挑食者”，而 ASD 患者存在特定的感官模式可能是阻碍喂养的主要方面之一。GI 疾病与肠道微生物群的组成改变有关。肠道微生物组能够通过微生物衍生的信号分子、免疫介质、肠道激素以及迷走神经和脊髓传入神经元与大脑活动进行交流。由于饮食会引起肠道微生物群和分子（如 SCFA）的变化，我们想研究营养干预对 GI 微生物群组成的作用，以及它对行为、GI 症状和微生物群组成的影响，并报告对 ASD 状况的有益影响。
