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The impact of sensory integration based sports training on motor and social skill development in children with autism spectrum disorder
Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) often experience deficits in motor coordination, sensory processing, and social interaction, which hinder their participation in physical activities. While sensory integration-based interventions have shown promise, the specific impact of structured sports training incorporating sensory principles remains underexplored. This study evaluated the effects of a 12-week sensory integration-based sports training program on motor and social outcomes in children with ASD. Forty participants, aged 6–12, were randomly assigned to either an experimental group receiving sensory integration-based sports training or a control group engaged in standard physical activity. Motor coordination was assessed using the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency (BOT-2), and social responsiveness was measured using the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS-2). Weekly behavioral engagement was also recorded. Data were analyzed using paired t-tests and Cohen’s d for effect size. Participants in the intervention group demonstrated a significant 17.2-point increase in BOT-2 scores, reflecting improved motor coordination. SRS-2 scores decreased by 13.2 points, indicating enhanced social responsiveness. Participation rates in structured activities increased from 45 to 85% over the 12 weeks. Statistical analysis revealed a large effect size (Cohen’s d > 0.8) for both outcomes. Sensory integration-based sports training significantly improves motor and social functioning in children with ASD and offers a promising approach for therapeutic and educational rehabilitation programs.
Journal Article
Microbiota Transfer Therapy alters gut ecosystem and improves gastrointestinal and autism symptoms: an open-label study
Background
Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are complex neurobiological disorders that impair social interactions and communication and lead to restricted, repetitive, and stereotyped patterns of behavior, interests, and activities. The causes of these disorders remain poorly understood, but gut microbiota, the 10
13
bacteria in the human intestines, have been implicated because children with ASD often suffer gastrointestinal (GI) problems that correlate with ASD severity. Several previous studies have reported abnormal gut bacteria in children with ASD. The gut microbiome-ASD connection has been tested in a mouse model of ASD, where the microbiome was mechanistically linked to abnormal metabolites and behavior. Similarly, a study of children with ASD found that oral non-absorbable antibiotic treatment improved GI and ASD symptoms, albeit temporarily. Here, a small open-label clinical trial evaluated the impact of Microbiota Transfer Therapy (MTT) on gut microbiota composition and GI and ASD symptoms of 18 ASD-diagnosed children.
Results
MTT involved a 2-week antibiotic treatment, a bowel cleanse, and then an extended fecal microbiota transplant (FMT) using a high initial dose followed by daily and lower maintenance doses for 7–8 weeks. The Gastrointestinal Symptom Rating Scale revealed an approximately 80% reduction of GI symptoms at the end of treatment, including significant improvements in symptoms of constipation, diarrhea, indigestion, and abdominal pain. Improvements persisted 8 weeks after treatment. Similarly, clinical assessments showed that behavioral ASD symptoms improved significantly and remained improved 8 weeks after treatment ended. Bacterial and phagedeep sequencing analyses revealed successful partial engraftment of donor microbiota and beneficial changes in the gut environment. Specifically, overall bacterial diversity and the abundance of
Bifidobacterium
,
Prevotella
, and
Desulfovibrio
among other taxa increased following MTT, and these changes persisted after treatment stopped (followed for 8 weeks).
Conclusions
This exploratory, extended-duration treatment protocol thus appears to be a promising approach to alter the gut microbiome and virome and improve GI and behavioral symptoms of ASD. Improvements in GI symptoms, ASD symptoms, and the microbiome all persisted for at least 8 weeks after treatment ended, suggesting a long-term impact.
Trial registration
This trial was registered on the ClinicalTrials.gov, with the registration number
NCT02504554
Journal Article
Comprehensive Nutritional and Dietary Intervention for Autism Spectrum Disorder—A Randomized, Controlled 12-Month Trial
This study involved a randomized, controlled, single-blind 12-month treatment study of a comprehensive nutritional and dietary intervention. Participants were 67 children and adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) ages 3–58 years from Arizona and 50 non-sibling neurotypical controls of similar age and gender. Treatment began with a special vitamin/mineral supplement, and additional treatments were added sequentially, including essential fatty acids, Epsom salt baths, carnitine, digestive enzymes, and a healthy gluten-free, casein-free, soy-free (HGCSF) diet. There was a significant improvement in nonverbal intellectual ability in the treatment group compared to the non-treatment group (+6.7 ± 11 IQ points vs. −0.6 ± 11 IQ points, p = 0.009) based on a blinded clinical assessment. Based on semi-blinded assessment, the treatment group, compared to the non-treatment group, had significantly greater improvement in autism symptoms and developmental age. The treatment group had significantly greater increases in EPA, DHA, carnitine, and vitamins A, B2, B5, B6, B12, folic acid, and Coenzyme Q10. The positive results of this study suggest that a comprehensive nutritional and dietary intervention is effective at improving nutritional status, non-verbal IQ, autism symptoms, and other symptoms in most individuals with ASD. Parents reported that the vitamin/mineral supplements, essential fatty acids, and HGCSF diet were the most beneficial.
Journal Article
Spectroscopic confirmation of two luminous galaxies at a redshift of 14
The first observations of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) have revolutionized our understanding of the Universe by identifying galaxies at redshift
z
≈ 13 (refs.
1
,
2
–
3
). In addition, the discovery of many luminous galaxies at Cosmic Dawn (
z
> 10) has suggested that galaxies developed rapidly, in apparent tension with many standard models
4
,
5
,
6
,
7
–
8
. However, most of these galaxies lack spectroscopic confirmation, so their distances and properties are uncertain. Here we present JWST Advanced Deep Extragalactic Survey–Near-Infrared Spectrograph spectroscopic confirmation of two luminous galaxies at
z
=
14.32
−
0.20
+
0.08
and
z
= 13.90 ± 0.17. The spectra reveal ultraviolet continua with prominent Lyman-α breaks but no detected emission lines. This discovery proves that luminous galaxies were already in place 300 million years after the Big Bang and are more common than what was expected before JWST. The most distant of the two galaxies is unexpectedly luminous and is spatially resolved with a radius of 260 parsecs. Considering also the very steep ultraviolet slope of the second galaxy, we conclude that both are dominated by stellar continuum emission, showing that the excess of luminous galaxies in the early Universe cannot be entirely explained by accretion onto black holes. Galaxy formation models will need to address the existence of such large and luminous galaxies so early in cosmic history.
JWST–NIRSpec spectroscopic confirmation of two luminous galaxies is presented, proving that luminous galaxies were already in place 300 million years after the Big Bang and are more common than what was expected before JWST.
Journal Article
Spin-Orbit Splitting of Andreev States Revealed by Microwave Spectroscopy
We perform microwave spectroscopy of Andreev states in superconducting weak links tailored in an InAs-Al (core-full shell) epitaxially grown nanowire. The spectra present distinctive features with bundles of four lines crossing when the superconducting phase difference across the weak link is 0 orπ. We interpret these features as arising from zero-field spin-split Andreev states. A simple analytical model, which takes into account the Rashba spin-orbit interaction in a nanowire containing several transverse subbands, explains these features and their evolution with magnetic field. Our results show that the spin degree of freedom is addressable in Josephson junctions and constitute a first step towards its manipulation.
Journal Article
Probiotic and Oxytocin Combination Therapy in Patients with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Randomized, Double-Blinded, Placebo-Controlled Pilot Trial
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a rapidly growing neurodevelopmental disorder. Both probiotics and oxytocin were reported to have therapeutic potential; however, the combination therapy has not yet been studied. We conducted a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled, 2-stage pilot trial in 35 individuals with ASD aged 3–20 years (median = 10.30 years). Subjects were randomly assigned to receive daily Lactobacillus plantarum PS128 probiotic (6 × 1010 CFUs) or a placebo for 28 weeks; starting on week 16, both groups received oxytocin. The primary outcomes measure socio-behavioral severity using the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) and Aberrant Behavior Checklist (ABC). The secondary outcomes include measures of the Clinical Global Impression (CGI) scale, fecal microbiome, blood serum inflammatory markers, and oxytocin. All outcomes were compared between the two groups at baseline, 16 weeks, and 28 weeks into treatment. We observed improvements in ABC and SRS scores and significant improvements in CGI-improvement between those receiving probiotics and oxytocin combination therapy compared to those receiving placebo (p < 0.05). A significant number of favorable gut microbiome network hubs were also identified after combination therapy (p < 0.05). The favorable social cognition response of the combination regimen is highly correlated with the abundance of the Eubacterium hallii group. Our findings suggest synergic effects between probiotics PS128 and oxytocin in ASD patients, although further investigation is warranted.
Journal Article