The Gut-Brain Study

Gastro-Intestinal Disorder Clinical Trial

Official title:

Dynamics of Gut Microbiomes in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Symptoms

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Active, not recruiting

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT03426826
• Other study ID #: CHLA-18-00065
• Status: Active, not recruiting
• Phase: Phase 1
• Start date: August 15, 2019
• Est. completion date: June 2026

Study information

• Verified date: October 2023
• Source: Children's Hospital Los Angeles
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

The purpose of this study is to find out if transplant of fecal matter (stool), also known as fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT), from a healthy person into the intestines of children and young adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). For this study children between the ages of 5-17years will be recruited over 2 years. Children will be recruited who receive an ASD diagnosis using the gold-standard Autism Diagnosis Observation Schedule -2 (ADOS-2) using module 1, 2 or 3 (none, limited or no moderate expressive language). Children diagnosed with these modules of the ADOS-2 may be at greater risk for GI disorders and rigid-compulsive behaviors. Additional assessment of rigid-compulsive behaviors and social communication will be done using the Repetitive Behavioral Scales-Revised (RBS-R) and Social Responsiveness Scale-2 (SRS-2), respectively. KBIT (the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test) is used at baseline to obtain patient IQ. Total evaluation time is approximately 90 minutes. Following baseline symptom evaluation, a medical exam will be performed to determine whether each child is expressing specific GI symptoms. In addition, parents will fill out the Questionnaire for Pediatric Gastrointestinal Symptoms- Rome III (QPGS-III). Once an ASD diagnosis is confirmed, FMT treatment will be initiated, which typically occurs within 4-6 weeks of the initial diagnosis. Half 50% of the children (n=5) will receive the equivalent of 50 g of stools from a healthy donor into the jejunum through upper endoscopy and the other 50% off children (n=5) will receive Saline solution as Placebo control through upper endoscopy. Subjects will have a total of 5 visits within 24 weeks including phone call follow up on Day 7 after FMT.

Description:

Nearly 1 in 60 children are diagnosed with ASD, a dramatic increase from the start of the 21st century. Although most children with ASD exhibit core social communication deficits, very limited interests, repetitive behaviors and sensory problems, the severity of symptoms and how well each child responds to standard behavioral therapies can vary tremendously from patient to patient. This makes it difficult to enact effective interventions. Other variables also influence the outcomes for ASD patients, including age at first diagnosis, access to care, the quality of treatments and the expertise of interventionists. Children with ASD also have medical disturbances, which affects their quality of life and compliance in intervention programs. For example, approximately 40 percent of children with ASD have gastrointestinal disturbances (GIDs). Genetics plays a substantial role in risk, but scientists also have determined that non-heritable factors can trigger the expression and severity of ASD symptoms. Clinical research studies from PI laboratories have focused on the gut-brain link that influences ASD symptoms, how a child functions and even responds to interventions . The investigators hypothesize that children with ASD will tolerate single endoscopic delivery of fecal transplant therapy which will modify their gut microbial profile leading to reduction of repetitive and rigid-compulsive behaviors, based on the Repetitive Behavioral Scales-Revised (RBS-R). Secondary outcomes include improved score in social responsiveness scale and gastrointestinal symptoms . Investigators propose a phase I safety study for the use of FMT in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Active, not recruiting
• Enrollment: 10
• Est. completion date: June 2026
• Est. primary completion date: March 2026
• Accepts healthy volunteers: No
• Gender: All
• Age group: 5 Years to 17 Years

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• Age: 5-17 who have been diagnosed with non-syndromic ASD-s
• Needs upper GI endoscopy
• Clinical Assessment of ASD
• ADOS validated diagnoses of ASD
• Questionnaires: RBS-2 , KBIT, SRS, Rome III Version (QPGS- RIII), Ped QL, SSP

Exclusion Criteria:

• Subjects able to give consent/assent but unwilling to give informed consent/assent
• Prematurity (<36 weeks)
• Pregnancy: testing will be done on FMT day 0 for subjects with childbearing potential
• Subjects with significant renal and liver dysfunction (creatinine > 2 mg/dl and direct bilirubin > 2 mg/dl)
• Subjects with congenital or acquired immunodeficiency, or who are immunosuppressed such as neoplastic disease or organ transplantation), have received or are receiving chemotherapy, or have been diagnosed with HIV.
• Subjects with syndromic disorders of defined genetic cause, and subjects who have severe sensory or motor problems (for example, blindness, deafness, seizures, cerebral palsy)
• Subjects with severe food allergies

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Autism Spectrum Disorder
• Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
• Autistic Disorder
• Child Development Disorders, Pervasive
• Digestive System Diseases
• Gastro-Intestinal Disorder
• Gastrointestinal Diseases
• Intestinal Diseases

Intervention

Biological:
• FMT versus placebo
Biological/Vaccine: Fecal Microbial Transplant versus placebo Fecal Transplant via endoscopy. Other Names: FMT

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
United States	Children's Hospital Los Angles	Los Angeles	California

Sponsors (1)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
Children's Hospital Los Angeles

Country where clinical trial is conducted

United States, 

References & Publications (8)

Finegold SM. State of the art; microbiology in health and disease. Intestinal bacterial flora in autism. Anaerobe. 2011 Dec;17(6):367-8. doi: 10.1016/j.anaerobe.2011.03.007. Epub 2011 Apr 16. — View Citation

Finegold SM. Therapy and epidemiology of autism--clostridial spores as key elements. Med Hypotheses. 2008;70(3):508-11. doi: 10.1016/j.mehy.2007.07.019. Epub 2007 Sep 29. — View Citation

Gorrindo P, Lane CJ, Lee EB, McLaughlin B, Levitt P. Enrichment of elevated plasma F2t-isoprostane levels in individuals with autism who are stratified by presence of gastrointestinal dysfunction. PLoS One. 2013 Jul 3;8(7):e68444. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0068444. Print 2013. — View Citation

Gorrindo P, Williams KC, Lee EB, Walker LS, McGrew SG, Levitt P. Gastrointestinal dysfunction in autism: parental report, clinical evaluation, and associated factors. Autism Res. 2012 Apr;5(2):101-8. doi: 10.1002/aur.237. — View Citation

Hamilton MJ, Weingarden AR, Sadowsky MJ, Khoruts A. Standardized frozen preparation for transplantation of fecal microbiota for recurrent Clostridium difficile infection. Am J Gastroenterol. 2012 May;107(5):761-7. doi: 10.1038/ajg.2011.482. Epub 2012 Jan 31. — View Citation

Kang DW, Adams JB, Gregory AC, Borody T, Chittick L, Fasano A, Khoruts A, Geis E, Maldonado J, McDonough-Means S, Pollard EL, Roux S, Sadowsky MJ, Lipson KS, Sullivan MB, Caporaso JG, Krajmalnik-Brown R. Microbiota Transfer Therapy alters gut ecosystem and improves gastrointestinal and autism symptoms: an open-label study. Microbiome. 2017 Jan 23;5(1):10. doi: 10.1186/s40168-016-0225-7. — View Citation

Luna RA, Oezguen N, Balderas M, Venkatachalam A, Runge JK, Versalovic J, Veenstra-VanderWeele J, Anderson GM, Savidge T, Williams KC. Distinct Microbiome-Neuroimmune Signatures Correlate With Functional Abdominal Pain in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder. Cell Mol Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2016 Dec 11;3(2):218-230. doi: 10.1016/j.jcmgh.2016.11.008. eCollection 2017 Mar. — View Citation

Yao MD, von Rosenvinge EC, Groden C, Mannon PJ. Multiple endoscopic biopsies in research subjects: safety results from a National Institutes of Health series. Gastrointest Endosc. 2009 Apr;69(4):906-10. doi: 10.1016/j.gie.2008.05.015. Epub 2009 Jan 10. — View Citation

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Primary Outcome Measures, safety and tolerability	The primary Outcome is safety of FMT and also it is measured by any symptom changes in obsessive/compulsive and repetitive behaviors using the RBS-R questionnaire.	24 weeks
Secondary	Secondary Outcome Measures, symptom improvement	Secondary endpoints will include cognitive improvement using language use in a 10 minute interactive session, Social Responsiveness Scale-2. The SRS-2 is newly available (Western Psychological Services). It is a parent 65-item questionnaire that provides a continuous quantitative measure of three DSM domains, including social behavior, communication, and restricted and repetitive behaviors, normed in typically developing (T-score=50, sd=10) and ASD populations. The SRS-2 offers new DSM-5 subscales. The SRS is used in a variety of clinical and research settings. T-scores of 65 correlate highly with an ASD diagnosis, but do not substitute for the ADOS. Changes in SRS T-scores have been used as a measure of social behavior change over time.	24 weeks