Distinctive Bacteria in Autistic Kids' Guts Could Enable Urine Test for Autism

Monday, June 7, 2010 - 10:51 in Health & Medicine

Clostridium Bacteria Clostridium difficile bacteria. A new British study found distinct chemical signatures in the urine of autistic children, another hint of a correlation between gut bacteria and the onset of the disorder. via Wikimedia Commons/MarcoTolo Autistic children have distinctive chemicals in their urine, according to a study by British researchers who say the results could pave the way for an diagnostic test for the disorder. The finding also lends more weight to theories that substances related to gut bacteria may contribute to autism, New Scientist reports. In the study, reported in the June 4 issue of the Journal of Proteome Research, Jeremy Nicholson and colleagues at Imperial College London examined 39 children with autism, 28 of their non-autistic siblings and 34 unrelated children. They analyzed the children's urine and found each group had a specific chemical signature, NS reports. In the autistic kids, the chemicals had the markings of...

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