Dr. Howard Smith Oncall

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/B8MTjm8lgMQ Building on increasing evidence that the bacteria residing in our gastrointestinal system influence our brain function, a team of biotechnologists at Arizona State University report beneficial effects of gut bacterial manipulation on the behavior and GI symptoms of autistic subjects. Their latest report in the journal Scientific Reports catalogs the long-term success of Microbiota Transfer Therapy that is essentially the transfer of highly selected GI bacteria from healthy donors. Autistic persons typically have not only behavioral issues but also gastrointestinal issues.  The Arizona group conducted longitudinal studies of 18 subjects who had undergone an intense regimen of gut bacteria transfer, known as microbiota transfer therapy or MTT, two years previously. The results show that the MTT therapy course was associated with a continuing improvement in both psychological and gastrointestinal symptoms.  The 2 year post-therapy assessment showed a 47% reduction of autisti