The last of the test results forwarded by a reader was the Great Plains Laboratory Organic Acid Test. The two earlier tests results with comments are:

• Parasitology and Autism
• Minerals and Autism

There are a lot of tables in this report and I will do just 1-2 in each blog post to keep information flow manageable.

This test is interesting because it lists some of the bacteria associated associated various markers.

The one interesting thing is that most of the lows are associated to Aspergillus. This agrees with a study that I cited earlier:

“Saccharomyces and Aspergillus showed significant differences between ASD (59.07%) and Control (40.36%), indicating that they may be involved in the abnormal gut fungal community structure of ASD. When analyzed at the species level, a decreased abundance in Aspergillus versicolor was observed while Saccharomyces cerevisiae was increased in children with ASD relative to controls. ” [2020]

 Aspergillus oryzae is the only Aspergillus that I know that is available as a probiotic (Strong Wakamoto W)

 2-Hydroxyphenylacetic Acid is shown as high above. The literature mentions 3-Hydroxyphenylacetic Acid is common with Autism

• Increased urinary excretion of a 3-(3-hydroxyphenyl)-3-hydroxypropionic acid (HPHPA), an abnormal phenylalanine metabolite of Clostridia spp. in the gastrointestinal tract, in urine samples from patients with autism and schizophrenia [2010]
• Investigation of the relation between anaerobic bacteria genus clostridium and late-onset autism etiology in children [2014]
• Urinary 3-(3-Hydroxyphenyl)-3-hydroxypropionic Acid, 3-Hydroxyphenylacetic Acid, and 3-Hydroxyhippuric Acid Are Elevated in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders [2016]
  • “After oral vancomycin treatment, urinary excretion of HPHPA (p < 0.001), 3HPA (p < 0.005), and 3HHA (p < 0.001) decreased markedly, which indicated that these compounds may also be from gut Clostridium species. … Additionally, the sensitivity and specificity data assessed by ROC analysis demonstrate that the measurements of the three metabolites are strong indicators of ASDs.”
  • ” after two therapeutic course treatments, the ABC score decreased significantly (mean value from 73 to 59); 90% autistic children showed improved communication and eye contact, but no obvious improvement in stereotyped behavior was seen. “

Nutritional Markers

The item that stands out is thiamin and there is no literature connecting it to autism beyond lower intake by diet in some locations.

• Autism spectrum disorder group failed to meet dietary recommendations for thiamin, riboflavin, vitamin C, or calcium. [2017]

From this article Nutritional and metabolic status of children with autism vs. neurotypical children, and the association with autism severity [2011] we read:

• No statistical difference for Thiamin
• No statistical difference for Riboflavin
• No statistical difference for Niacin
• No statistical difference for Pantothenic Acid, but average was lower
• No statistical difference for Vitamin C

I should add one word of warning, because the levels were similar, it does no exclude supplementation as being beneficial in some cases. The reason is that often they are processed into other chemicals (depending on available surplus and the bacteria present).

N-acetylcysteine (NAC) is more interesting because the marker indicate it was high. For a subset of ASD patients (high irritability), supplementation helps:

• The Use of N-acetylcysteine Supplementation to Decrease Irritability in Four Youths With Autism Spectrum Disorders [2020]
• A randomized double blind placebo controlled clinical trial of N-Acetylcysteine added to risperidone for treating autistic disorders [2013]
  • “Risperidone plus NAC more than risperidone plus placebo decreased irritability in children and adolescents with ASD.”
• A randomized placebo-controlled pilot study of N-acetylcysteine in youth with autism spectrum disorder [2016]
  • “The results of this trial indicate that NAC treatment was well tolerated, had the expected effect of boosting GSH production, but had no significant impact on social impairment in youth with ASD.“

CoQ 10 is shown as low above. As with NAC, supplementation appears to benefit a subset.

• Coenzyme Q ₁₀ supplementation reduces oxidative stress and decreases antioxidant enzyme activity in children with autism spectrum disorders [2018]” 
  • high doses ( daily doses of 30 and 60 mg. ) of CoQ₁₀ can improve gastrointestinal problems (P = 0.004) and sleep disorders (P = 0.005) in children with ASDs“
• Ubiquinol improves symptoms in children with autism [2014]
  • Ubiquinol supportive therapy improved symptoms in children with autism, as communication with parents (in 12%), verbal communication (in 21%), playing games of children (in 42%), sleeping (in 34%), and food rejection (in 17%), 

Bottom Line

My working model is that symptoms are strongly associated to the metabolites (chemicals/vitamins) produced/processed by the microbiome (bacteria in digestive system). For CoQ10 and NAC, we know the bacteria that are likely impacted, and that information is linked to here (CoQ10 , NAC).

This means that it is not a one-size fit all approach to autism, but very individual – either based on symptoms OR on the microbiome. I am biased towards using the microbiome (16s reports from Biome Sight [“MICRO” as discount code], followed by Thryve Inside)