ALTERAÇÕES NA MICROBIOTA GASTROINTESTINAL DE CRIANÇAS COM TRANSTORNO DO ESPECTRO AUTISTA: UMA REVISÃO SISTEMÁTICA

Abstract

Researchs about the causes of Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has led several scientists to relate many others systems to the patient's brain, linking changes in the gastrointestinal microbiota (GIM) to typical behaviors of people with ASD, suggesting that the brain-intestine axis is an important piece in this 'puzzle'. This work aimed to investigate the microbiota gastrointestinal in children with ASD. Such research was carried out on scientific work platforms, resulting in 293 works, which, after the selection, totaled 28 works analyzed. Almost all of them showed changes in the intestinal microbiota of children with ASD, the reduction of their diversity being the main alteration of these individuals in relation to the control group. The bacterial family Lachnospiraceae, the bacterial gender Lactobacillus, Clostridium, Feacalibacterium, and Bacteroides stood out in these studies; and the fungal genus Candida. Among the symptoms, constipation was quite frequent in children with ASD and some groups of microorganisms were positively or negatively associated with changes in sleep, speech development and behavioral aspects. We conclude that there are several alterations of GIM in children with autism when compared to children with typical neurodevelopment, being also affected by anatomical and metabolic issues as causes or consequences of ASD. There is a need for further studies, especially in the Brazilian population, and more specifically in the states, in view of the great heterogeneity of our people and their culture, the great dietary variations of the last decades, as well as the increase in gene flow among world populations.