Institute of Molecular Genetics and Genetic Engineering (IMGGE), University of Belgrade, 11042 Belgrade, Serbia.
Human Technopole, 20157 Milan, Italy.
Int J Mol Sci. 2024 Nov 19;25(22):12407. doi: 10.3390/ijms252212407.
Autism spectrum disorder (commonly known as autism) is a complex and prevalent neurodevelopmental condition characterized by challenges in social behavior, restricted interests, and repetitive behaviors. It is projected that the annual cost of autism spectrum disorder in the US will reach USD 461 billion by 2025. However, despite being a major public health problem, effective treatment for the underlying symptoms remains elusive. As numerous literature data indicate the role of gut microbiota in autism prognosis, particularly in terms of alleviating gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms, high hopes have been placed on probiotics for autism treatment. Approximately twenty clinical studies have been conducted using single or mixed probiotic cultures. However, unequivocal results on the effect of probiotics on people with autism have not been obtained. The small sample sizes, differences in age of participants, choice of probiotics, dose and duration of treatment, outcome measures, and analytical methods used are largely inconsistent, making it challenging to draw distinctive conclusions. Here, we discuss the experimental evidence for specific gut bacteria and their metabolites and how they affect autism in light of the phenotypic and etiological complexity and heterogeneity. We propose a personalized medicine approach for using probiotics to increase the quality of life of individuals with autism by selecting specific probiotics to improve particular features of the condition.
自闭症谱系障碍（通常称为自闭症）是一种复杂且普遍存在的神经发育障碍，其特征是社交行为、兴趣受限和重复行为方面存在挑战。预计到 2025 年，美国自闭症谱系障碍的年成本将达到 4610 亿美元。然而，尽管它是一个主要的公共卫生问题，但对于潜在症状的有效治疗仍然难以捉摸。由于大量文献数据表明肠道微生物群在自闭症预后中的作用，特别是在缓解胃肠道（GI）症状方面，人们对益生菌治疗自闭症寄予厚望。已经进行了大约二十项使用单一或混合益生菌培养物的临床研究。然而，并没有得到益生菌对自闭症患者有明确影响的结果。样本量小、参与者年龄差异、益生菌的选择、治疗的剂量和持续时间、结果衡量标准和使用的分析方法在很大程度上不一致，使得难以得出明确的结论。在这里，我们根据表型和病因的复杂性和异质性，讨论特定肠道细菌及其代谢物的实验证据，以及它们如何影响自闭症。我们提出了一种个性化医学方法，通过选择特定的益生菌来改善特定的疾病特征，来提高自闭症患者的生活质量。
