The Research Behind PS128, The Probiotic for Autism

Autism is a complex disorder which affects social, developmental, physical and emotional facets of your child’s life. Autism is officially known as ‘Autism Spectrum Disorder’ (ASD) due to the diversity in the way it can present and influence lives. Support for children with autism depends on the type of assistance required, but can include occupational therapy, speech pathology, various medications and behavioral therapy.

Interestingly, there are other ways you can support the wellbeing of your child with autism, including utilizing the connection between the gut and brain. We’re going to go over the science behind this gut-brain connection, and how it relates to autism. We’ll also be introducing PS128, a specialized probiotic which has been shown to improve outcomes in ASD.

The Gut and Brain’s Relationship

Our gut microbiome plays an important role in our gastrointestinal system, including synthesizing vitamins, digestion, supporting immunity and fighting bad bacteria. Another important function of the gut is its ability to support the health of our nervous system and brain, specifically through the Gut-Brain Axis (GBA).

The GBA is a bidirectional channel for our gut and brain to communicate with, and influence one another. After our brains, our gut is the organ with the most nerves in our body; which is why it is becoming so central for research in mental health and neurodevelopmental disorders, including ASD.

Our mental health and neurodevelopment is influenced strongly by our GBA, due to the GBA’s role in producing neurotransmitters. In fact, our gut is responsible for producing up to 90% of our serotonin and 50% of our dopamine. These two important neurotransmitters are known as ‘happy hormones’ as they are key to our mood and mental health. Therefore, it is easy to see how the health of these two highly innervated organs could be key to optimizing wellbeing.

How Does Gut Health Relate to Autism?

GBA research has extended into finding ways to use the gut microbiome to support neurodevelopmental conditions such as ASD. Previous research has indicated that gut microbiome diversity differs in people with ASD; indicating that probiotics, nutritional and dietary support should be given more attention when supporting children with autism.

Those happy hormones we mentioned earlier – serotonin and dopamine, play a role in autism as well. Specifically, people with ASD have been shown to have increased amounts of serotonin in their blood compared to those without ASD. If you’re wondering why blood serotonin is important here, it's because it means that this serotonin is not in the gut, and potentially, not being utilized by the important Gut-Brain Axis.

Serotonin has been associated with a number of important symptoms and outcomes of ASD, including social interaction, anxiety, depression and repetitive behaviors. Likewise, serotonin has been linked to a variety of gastrointestinal symptoms which are common with ASD. Since serotonin levels, gut microbiome diversity and the GBA are all intertwined, it's possible that supporting the gut could be a key part of improving the health and wellbeing of people with autism.

How Can I Support Gut Health For Autism?

Supporting the gut is one way to foster the gut-brain connection to provide benefit to your child with ASD. The gut requires a variety of vitamins and nutrients in order to maintain a healthy balance within the gut microbiome. It is also common for children with ASD to also have gastrointestinal issues, including issues with digestion and using the bathroom. One way to support both the GBA and general digestion is with probiotics, a type of ‘good bacteria’ used by the gut.

Probiotics exist naturally in a number of foods, including fermented foods, dairy and yogurt. There are thousands of different types of probiotic strains, all with varying effects on your health. That being said, not all probiotics are equal; some are much more effective than others, especially when it comes to supporting the GBA.

PS128 – The ASD Gut-Brain Probiotic

One strain of probiotic which has been scientifically proven to act on the Gut-Brain Axis is PS128. This specific strain of probiotic is known as a psychobiotic, due to its ability to influence mental health and cognition. There have been numerous research studies and preclinical trials involving PS128, including for children with autism.

The way PS128 can support children with ASD is by increasing serotonin levels directly in the gut. Since the GBA is a bidirectional channel between the gut and brain, this increase in serotonin in the gut also supports serotonin in the brain.

Research on PS128 for Autism

An advantage of PS128 is that it has been extensively researched to prove that it is a safe and effective strain of probiotic. As there are many types of probiotics out there, all with varying levels of effectiveness, knowing what type of probiotic is right for your child can be challenging.

There have been a number of research studies which show that PS128 is helpful in supporting autism. These studies assessed the effectiveness of PS128 in supporting and improving outcomes in areas of social interaction, emotional regulation and communication. We’ve summarized the research for you, so you can see just how revolutionary PS128 is:

Study #1: Improvements in Behavior After 4 Weeks taking PS128

PS128 or a placebo was taken by children aged 7-15 with autism in a double-blind trial. A double-blind trial is one where neither the researchers or the participants know whether they are taking PS128 or the placebo until after the study is done. This type of study is known as the ‘gold standard’ in clinical research.

The researchers used a number of clinical evaluations to assess the children in the trial, such as the Social Responsiveness Scale and SNAP-IV, two of the most widely used assessments for ASD and ADHD. After just 4 weeks, the group taking PS128 were shown to have improvements in behavior including social awareness, communication, and reduced hyperactivity, impulsivity, rule breaking and oppositional and defiant behavior.

Improvements in social awareness and communication
Reduced anxiety
Reduced rule-breaking and other oppositional/defiant behavior
Reduced impulsivity and hyperactivity

You can read the original study here.

Study #2: PS128 Much More Effective Than Other Probiotics for Autism

Children with autism were given either PS128 or another probiotic every day for 6 months. After 6 months, 87% of the group who were taking PS128 had improved, with their overall severity of symptoms improving, including improvements in communication of needs (and specifically using first-person language), and a reduction in repetitive actions.

Increased attention
Improved communication of needs
Improved communication in using first-person terms like ‘I’
Reduced repetitive (stereotyped) actions

This study shows how important using specific strains of probiotics are when choosing to support the GBA. Even though both groups were using a probiotic, the participants who took PS128 had much larger improvements. See this diagram below for an illustration of just how much participants taking PS128 improved:

You can read the whole study here.

Study #3: PS128 Improved Behavior & Wellbeing in 2-7 Year Olds

PS128 was given to young children with autism, aged 2-7 years in another randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. After 2 months of daily PS128 consumption, these children had improved compared to the placebo group, including a reduction in anxiety, depression, rule breaking, oppositional and defiant behavior, and impulsivity and hyperactivity.

Improved anxiety and depression
Reduced rule breaking, opposition and defiance behavior
Reduced impulsivity and hyperactivity

Read the original paper here.

All of these studies support the use of PS128 for improving outcomes in autism, by utilizing the gut-brain connection. If you are interested in reading more about the research behind PS128 for autism, or to view the studies yourself, click here.

For a quick summary of the research on PS128 for autism, refer to the graphic below:

Things To Remember When Trying Probiotics For Autism

Since the GBA is becoming more central in the conversation of neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism, it can be tempting to jump on the bandwagon and start giving probiotics to your child. In order to effectively support gut health, and improve outcomes for autistic children, remember these key points:

Not all Probiotics are the Same: As we mentioned in our research summaries above, not all probiotics are equally effective in supporting the GBA. Only the PS128 strain was shown to improve traits including social behavior, anxiety and communication across the studies we mentioned. In fact, study #2 showed that PS128 was more effective compared to other probiotics for autism – so choosing the right strain is important.

Probiotics Take Time: Every study using PS128 mentioned above was conducted over at least 4 weeks. Probiotics take time to adjust the composition and diversity of the gut microbiome. In order to get the most out of using probiotics for autism, being patient and consistent with taking them is key.

Autism is Complex: The researchers in the studies we discussed used a number of widely accepted, clinical assessment criteria to evaluate every autistic child. Children taking PS128 saw improvements in many facets of their life, including in social, behavioral, emotional areas, as well as in their communication skills. Every autistic child needs support unique to them, including therapies like speech pathology, occupational therapy and other behavioral support. Probiotics like PS128 can be used to support your child’s GBA whilst they continue these other therapies, to improve a variety of facets of your child’s life.

Probiotics like PS128 are an effective way to support the gut-brain connection and improve outcomes in children with autism. By encouraging the production of important neurotransmitters, PS128 has been scientifically proven to be more effective compared to other strains of probiotics. PS128 has been shown to improve social communication, and attention, and reduce repetitive actions, anxiety and oppositional behavior. If you are interested in using PS128 to support the gut and wellbeing of your child with ASD, click here to read more.