Andy...

[Guest guest]

This is from an immunologist regarding my son's test results. I'm not

sure I understand the line, " He agreed that this is very unusual,

typically we see elevated anaerobic ABs in autistic patients. " Is he

saying it's unusual for typical kids but typical for autistic kids,

or is my child's results unusual even for autistic kids? I'm so

tired and not thinking straight over here---need someone to clarify.

FYI, he's on heavy probiotics including Lacto GG everyday. Any input

would be appreciated.

Thanks.

" All of the overgrowth seen in the upper GI is anaerobic. The aerobes

cannot survive in the small intestine, so pseudomonas would not be

found there. Treatments for this disorder should range from heavy

probiotics for minor sx, possibly botanicals but these are usually

not strong enough except for Mastic Gum when H. pylori. As for

antibiotics, always use broad spectrum when high sx. These may

include tetracycline, Augmentin, Keflex, and Flagyl.

Probably the most common overgrowth 'bug' is Bacteroides fragilis

group. This bug makes up appr. 30% of the bowel isolates. 8 of the 10

species of Bacteroides help to maintain the upper GI balance, however

the other two produce an enterotoxin that has been linked to UC.

Other, organisms include Clostridium species, H. pylori and

Campylobacter(usually high sx with Campy).

I spoke to Dr. Vajdani about the test results for your young autistic

patient. He agreed that this is very unusual, typically we see

elevated anaerobic ABs in autistic patients. In addition to overall

compromised immune function, it is likely that he has an upper GI

infection (bacterial) which can readily be diagnosed in older

patients using our Upper GI Bacterial Overgrowth Test, in which we

measure methane and CO2 in breath at specified intervals after an

oral dose of lactulose. Perhaps the stool culture will be helpful,

but in any case probiotics are highly recommended.

I hope that this is helpful. Aristo just published a fascinating

article along these lines in this months J. of Neuroimmunology. "