Comparison of Oral and Gut Microbiota in Patients with Autism Spectrum Disorders and Neurotypical Controls- A Pilot Study

MGH 2017P000573, PI: Xue-Jun Kong, MD

Microbiome status in the gut is thought to be associated with autism development, including behavior changes. Over-presentation of pathogenic strains such as Clostridium and suppression of normal resident bacteria in the gut have been reported. Research suggests that gut microbiome plays critical roles in gastrointestinal and possibly behavioral symptoms in patients with autism. However, the oral microbiome is relatively understudied compared to the gut microbiome. Currently, it is unknown whether or how oral microbiome is associated with gut microbiome in neurodevelopmental diseases such as ASD. We believe that this study would benefit this frontier of biomedical research. We hope that our research will help to guide current clinical practice and to develop novel therapeutic interventions. This project is currently open for recruitment

Status: finished with two publications, orally presented at Cold Spring Harbor Asia conferences in Suzhou, China 2018