Issue link: https://tmcpulse.uberflip.com/i/489418
t m c » p u l s e | a p r i l 2 0 1 5 26 Micro-Sized Saviors Researchers studying links between autism and gastrointestinal problems in the pediatric population look to an unlikely source for groundbreaking new therapies B y A l e x a n d r a B e c k e r Ruth Ann Luna, Ph.D., is pictured with her family. She hopes results from this study will benefit patients like her son, a six-year-old with autism who has limited verbal abilities and also suffers from GI problems. (Credit: Lindsay Moore) B acteria have long been regarded as the enemy— blamed for disease and infections, even anthro- pomorphized as tiny green monsters in literature and on television. But James Versalovic, M.D., Ph.D., the Milton J. Finegold Professor of Pathology at Baylor College of Medicine, pathologist-in-chief at Texas Children's Hospital and director of the Texas Children's Microbiome Center, and Ruth Ann Luna, Ph.D., an assistant professor of pathology at Baylor and director of medical metagenomics within the Texas Children's Microbiome Center, are working together to change that perception. "For many years we would just think of human cells while ignoring our microbial partners or pointing the finger to them as the bad guys causing infectious diseases. But the reality is, it's just like humanity— we have a few bad actors, but most people are good-natured at heart. Most microbes are friendly with their habitats and hosts; they're beneficial," Versalovic explained. "In fact, we have more microbial cells in the human body than our own—100 trillion microbial cells versus 10 trillion human cells. We know that we have co-evolved with our microbial partners, and our challenge now in medicine is to facilitate that partnership and enable bacteria to work for us in a way that maximizes human health." So, could bacteria turn out to be the hero of modern medicine? Versalovic and Luna think so. Together with their teams at Baylor and Texas Children's Hospital, the two researchers recently received a $1.4 million three-year grant from the organization Autism Speaks to study potential connections between gastrointesti- nal problems and autism, focusing specifically on the profile of bacteria in the gut. "Research has shown that there are inherent differ- ences in the guts of children with autism than those without, such as differences in the type and amount of bacteria in their guts, changes in the tissues of their GI tract, and cases of chronic diarrhea or constipation," Luna explained. "These gastrointestinal problems often worsen behavioral symptoms, and many chil- dren with autism are unable to communicate pain or what they're feeling." It's a connection Luna knows well. She is the mother of a child with autism who has limited verbal abilities and also suffers from significant GI problems. "Before I noticed the behavioral issues, I was already acutely aware of the GI problems," Luna said.