Infant microbes and metabolites point to childhood neurodevelopmental disorders
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Re: Infant microbes and metabolites point to childhood neurodevelopmental disorders
#2I have a child diagnosed with ASD level 2 (in Australia), he was born premature by a few weeks and immediately put on a course of antibiotics. I am curious about the connection here but am a total layman with the science.
Re: Infant microbes and metabolites point to childhood neurodevelopmental disorders
#3The antibiotic link is really alarming. Growing up in a country where antibiotics are basically prescribed for any illness, my mom refused to administer it to us unless there was an emergency. Clearly she had some foresight.
I find it a tough choice for my own kids. For example, if they have an ear infection, you could try waiting it out, and sometimes they can get better on their own, but it's riskier and might be longer and cause more discomfort. Or you can give the antibiotic, but then you get the unknown side effects.
Re: Infant microbes and metabolites point to childhood neurodevelopmental disorders
#4The more I come across articles like this (yes: I know it’s talking about early life) the more I start to wonder if the problems I’ve struggled with in the past and to a somewhat lesser extent now (anxiety, with quite severe physical symptoms) are caused by/can at least be alleviated by a change in gut flora. I have this weird feeling (based on some recurring experience) that anxiety and digestion are somehow deeply connected.
Has anyone here tried making a change to their ‘microbiome’ and noticed it had any obvious effect?
Re: Infant microbes and metabolites point to childhood neurodevelopmental disorders
#5The more I come across articles like this (yes: I know it’s talking about early life) the more I start to wonder if the problems I’ve struggled with in the past and to a somewhat lesser extent now (anxiety, with quite severe physical symptoms) are caused by/can at least be alleviated by a change in gut flora. I have this weird feeling (based on some recurring experience) that anxiety and digestion are somehow deeply…
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Re: Infant microbes and metabolites point to childhood neurodevelopmental disorders
#6The more I come across articles like this (yes: I know it’s talking about early life) the more I start to wonder if the problems I’ve struggled with in the past and to a somewhat lesser extent now (anxiety, with quite severe physical symptoms) are caused by/can at least be alleviated by a change in gut flora. I have this weird feeling (based on some recurring experience) that anxiety and digestion are somehow deeply…
To be honest my read on this is not causal. It’s very hard to diagnose ADHD or the like until the child has some theory of self.
That being said maybe it’s causal? But it might also just be a generalized indicator of developmental issues (if you have issues on one part of the body, makes sense for other parts to have issues as well IMO. Especially given the comorbidity stuff on ADHD diagnoses)
Re: Infant microbes and metabolites point to childhood neurodevelopmental disorders
#7My layman's intuition points towards inflammation for at least ASD, less so the ADHD.
Re: Infant microbes and metabolites point to childhood neurodevelopmental disorders
#8The antibiotic link is really alarming. Growing up in a country where antibiotics are basically prescribed for any illness, my mom refused to administer it to us unless there was an emergency. Clearly she had some foresight. I find it a tough choice for my own kids. For example, if they have an ear infection, you could try waiting it out, and sometimes they can get better on their own, but it's riskier and might be l…
You should also keep in mind that the "diagnosis" of an ear infection is often half assed / made up, mostly because it's much easier to prescribe an antibiotic (which satisfies most frustrated parents) than stop your busy clinic / urgent care / ED to explain why antibiotics aren't indicated (and then deal with the fallout of a complaint or negative review).
In contrast, it's pretty difficult to prove that an ear infection was not present at the time of evaluation. The assessment is highly subjective, can be really difficult to thoroughly assess in young kids, and generally doesn't leave any hard evidence to review or critique.
Nearly all of the bad incentives align to pressure providers to just diagnose an ear infection and prescribe the antibiotic and move on with their busy shift.
Re: Infant microbes and metabolites point to childhood neurodevelopmental disorders
#9The more I come across articles like this (yes: I know it’s talking about early life) the more I start to wonder if the problems I’ve struggled with in the past and to a somewhat lesser extent now (anxiety, with quite severe physical symptoms) are caused by/can at least be alleviated by a change in gut flora. I have this weird feeling (based on some recurring experience) that anxiety and digestion are somehow deeply…
When I was struggling with severe anxiety during covid lockdowns and struggling with a bad job, I read about a link between depression and gut health, so started taking kefir daily. Over time things definitely improved, but I was doing so much stuff to try and improve the situation (increased exercise, therapy, meditation etc) I can’t say it was the key to recovery, but it certainly didn’t hurt.
Re: Infant microbes and metabolites point to childhood neurodevelopmental disorders
#10Paper in Cell:
https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(24)00238-1?_re...
There is a lot there to establish association but seems to me causality might run either way.