The purpose of this study is to determine the tolerability of dietary supplements and if these supplements can promote a healthy bacterial environment in the intestines of children with autism spectrum disorders and gastrointestinal complaints.
This study investigates the feasibility, tolerability, and effects of a dietary supplement on the intestinal flora of children with autism spectrum disorders. This study is divided into two parts, each five weeks long, with a two week break in between. During one part of the study, a prebiotic (milk oligosaccharides from bovine colostrum) will be given. During the other part of the study, the synbiotic composed of the prebiotic and probiotic (bifidobacterium infantis) will be given. Stool will be analyzed at the end of each study arm to determine content of bifidobacteria. On May 8, 2018, we updated the study start and completion dates to the actual (instead of anticipated) dates. On May 30-31, 2019, we updated the study results section.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
TRIPLE
Enrollment
11
UC Davis MIND Institute
Sacramento, California, United States
Stool Microbiota Composition Change During Prebiotic Only Treatment
The stool microbiome composition will be analyzed through next generation sequencing and quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Overall bacterial composition change is reported here, as change in enterotype from before prebiotic only treatment to after prebiotic treatment, for all subjects. Enterotypes were organized into four categories for analysis: a community high in Prevotella ("Prevotella"), a community high in Bifidobacterium ("Bifidobacterium"), a community high in Bacteroides ("Bacteroides"), and a mixed community ("Mixed") that did not fall into one of the other three enterotypes but instead consisted of a varied combination of bacteria, including among others Akkermansia, Collinsela, Prevotella, and/or Bacteroides.
Time frame: Five weeks
Stool Microbiota Composition Change During Synbiotic Treatment
The stool microbiome composition will be analyzed through next generation sequencing and quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Overall bacterial composition change is reported here, as change in enterotype from before synbiotic treatment to after synbiotic treatment, for all subjects. Enterotypes were organized into four categories for analysis: a community high in Prevotella ("Prevotella"), a community high in Bifidobacterium ("Bifidobacterium"), a community high in Bacteroides ("Bacteroides"), and a mixed community ("Mixed") that did not fall into one of the other three enterotypes but instead consisted of a varied combination of bacteria, including among others Akkermansia, Collinsela, Prevotella, and/or Bacteroides.
Time frame: Five weeks
Serum Immune Profile Change During Prebiotic Only Treatment
Luminex technology will be used to determine a serum immune profile of each participants in response to the study supplement. This profile included assessment of change in percentage of stimulated CD4+ T cells producing intracellular IL-13 before and after Synbiotic treatment ("Post-Synbiotic % IL-13"), and assessment of change in percentage of stimulated CD8+ T cells producing TNF-alpha before and after Prebiotic Only treatment ("Post-Prebiotic % TNF-alpha"). Results are reported here for all subjects regardless of treatment order assignment. Decrease in inflammatory cytokines IL-13 and TNF-alpha is interpreted as a positive outcome.
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Time frame: Five weeks