Autism - Urine Test soon?

What is at the basis of Autism? If it is something in the gut, which plays a major role on mood, behavior, and even personality, then perhaps there would be different metabolites in the urine of Autistic people.

As gut bacteria ["microflora"] develop in infants, anything that disrupts that development might lead to problems. Ahh, and toxins, including toxins in vaccines, do affect the gut bacteria.

That idea deserves some study. I believe there are implications for other illnesses too, such as Fibro, CFS, PD, etc.


Here is an article about a urine test for Autistic people:


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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1283696/Urine-test-biological-autis...



Revolutionary urine test for autism could soon diagnose children with the condition

By Health Reporter
3rd June 2010



A simple urine test could determine whether or not a young child has autism, according to new research.

Children with the condition have a different chemical fingerprint in their urine than their non-autistic counterparts.

It is therefore possible to differentiate between the two by looking at the by-products of gut bacteria and the body's metabolic processes in the children's urine, scientists believe.

The findings, published tomorrow in the Journal of Proteome Research, suggest that ultimately a urine test will be able to detect autism in infants.

People with autism are known to suffer from gastrointestinal disorders and have a different make-up of bacteria in their guts from non-autistic people. The exact biological significance of gastrointestinal disorders in the development of autism is unknown.

The distinctive urinary metabolic fingerprint for autism identified by the the study, from Imperial College London and the University of South Australia, could form the basis of a non-invasive test that might help diagnose autism earlier.

This would enable autistic children to receive assistance, such as advanced behavioural therapy, earlier in their development than is currently possible.

At present, children are assessed for autism through a lengthy process involving a range of tests that explore the child's social interaction, communication and imaginative skills.

Early intervention can greatly improve the progress of children with autism but it is currently difficult to establish a firm diagnosis when children are under 18 months of age, although it is likely that changes may occur much earlier than this.

The researchers suggest that their new understanding of the make-up of bacteria in autistic children's guts could also help scientists to develop treatments to tackle autistic people's gastrointestinal problems.

Professor Jeremy Nicholson, one of the authors of the study from Imperial College London, said: 'Autism is a condition that affects a person's social skills, so at first it might seem strange that there's a relationship between autism and what's happening in someone's gut.

'However, your metabolism and the make-up of your gut bacteria reflect all sorts of things, including your lifestyle and your genes.

'Autism affects many different parts of a person's system and our study shows that you can see how it disrupts their system by looking at their metabolism and their gut bacteria.

'We hope our findings might be the first step towards creating a simple urine test to diagnose autism at a really young age, although this may be a long way off - such a test could take years to develop.

'We know that giving therapy to children with autism when they are very young can make a huge difference to their progress.'

He added: 'A urine test might enable professionals to quickly identify children with autism and help them early on.'

The researchers are now keen to investigate whether metabolic differences in people with autism are related to the causes of the condition or are a consequence of its progression.

The researchers reached their conclusions by using H NMR Spectroscopy to analyse the urine of three groups of children aged between three and nine - 39 children who had previously been diagnosed with autism; 28 non-autistic siblings of children with autism; and 34 children who did not have autism who did not have an autistic sibling.

They found that each of the three groups had a distinct chemical fingerprint.

Non-autistic children with autistic siblings had a different chemical fingerprint than those without any autistic siblings, and autistic children had a different chemical fingerprint than the other two groups.

Autism and related conditions such as Asperger's syndrome affect at least one in 100 UK children, and some research puts the figure as high as one in 60. Even the lower estimate is ten times the level of 30 years ago.

With the causes unclear, children are usually treated with a combination of speech, behavioural and other therapies. Drugs can be given to control symptoms such as aggression or hyperactivity, but these cannot be cured.

Last year, a study led by Professor Simon Baron-Cohen at Cambridge University's Autism Research Centre, estimated that for every three cases of autism detected, another two go undiagnosed.

It suggested that 216,000 children in the UK could be suffering from an autistic condition.

Looking after sufferers already costs the UK £28billion a year.


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