Last summer, Dr. Frye led a group of international, pioneering physicians and scientists, as well as parents, at the 1st International Symposium on the Microbiome in Health and Disease with a Special Focus on Autism. At this historic conference autism researchers called for a new frontier in science and autism research: the connection between the enteric (gut) microbiome and autism.
“Mounting evidence shows us that there is a link between the gut and brain; that the gut may have previously under-recognized influences on cognition and possibly even behavior”, said Dr. Frye, a leading autism researcher who serves as Director of both ACH’s Integrated Autism Research Program and Autism Multispecialty Clinic. “Several lines of research also point to the possibility that changes in the gut either cause or are highly associated with driving core ASD (autism spectrum disorder) symptoms”. The microbiome-autism connection is one of several promising avenues being examined as part of their integrated research program at Arkansas Children’s Hospital Research Institute.
