The gut microbiome has been suggested to influence a variety of human health conditions, including autism spectrum disorder. This has led to proposals that altering the microbiome—whether by diet, probiotics, or fecal transfer—might alleviate symptoms. A study published in Cell today (November 11), however, turns this idea on its head. Rather than gut microbes influencing autism spectrum disorder (ASD) behavior, the paper argues, it is the eating behavior of people with ASD that drives the make-up of their gut microbiomes. While the findings raise doubt about the potential of microbiome-manipulating treatments for ASD, not everyone is ready to throw the bacteria out with the bathwater.
Kevin Mitchell, a developmental neurobiologist and geneticist at Trinity College Dublin who was not involved in the study, says he has long had doubts about the contribution of gut microbes to ASD, so when he read the Cell study, he punched the air “because it ...
