Could Fixing Gut Bacteria Help Cure Autism?

After news of a father improving his son's autism symptoms with antibiotics went viral, a new study has shown a link between gut bacteria and autism.

According to Fox News, the study involving 45,000 Norwegian children showed that infants with autism were two and half times more likely to experience gastrointestinal problems during both early and late infanthood. Mothers of the children in the study were asked to report gastrointestinal problems until age 3, at different intervals of the child's growth.

About 195 in the study group were diagnosed with ASD. The study showed that high rate of incidence of GI problems can be linked to autism but did not explain the findings. However higher incidence of gut problems became apparent in autistic group of children even before their diagnosis.

The study comes after news of antibiotics improving autism symptoms surfaced.John Rodakis' son showed was able to make eye-contact and showed speech improvements after a course of amoxicillin prescribed for throat infection.

Rodakis' search for an explanation led him to many parents who prescribed antibiotics to their autistic children routinely, to bring improvements. He also met Dr. Richard Frye who heads the Autism Research Program at Arkansas Children's Hospital Research Institute.

"Careful parental observations can be crucial. In science we take these observations, put them through the scientific method, and see what we find. This is what can lead to ground-breaking scientific discoveries and breakthroughs in the field," said Dr. Frye.