Could a gut makeover help kids with autism? new trial investigates
NCT ID NCT07381374
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tests whether transferring healthy gut bacteria (fecal transplant) through a tube or colonoscopy can reduce autism symptoms in 75 children aged 3-16 with moderate-to-severe autism. Kids continue their usual behavioral therapy. The main goal is to see if autism severity scores improve over 24 weeks, with safety tracked for 48 weeks.
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Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 1 person
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Mar 2026
- Expected to finish
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Apr 2027
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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A government agency
The lead sponsor is a government body.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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3 to 16 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
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Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Aged 3-16 years. * Diagnosed with ASD according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5), with a Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) total score ≥36 (moderate-to-severe autism). * Legal guardians fully comprehend the trial's informed consent and voluntarily provide written consent. * Compliance with follow-up visits, examinations, and specimen collection. * No probiotic supplements consumed within the preceding 3 months. Exclusion Criteria: * Use of probiotics or prebiotics within 3 months prior to enrollment. * Antibiotic usage within 1 month prior to enrollment. * Presence of fever (axillary temperature ≥37.5°C). * Dependency on tube feeding. * Severe gastrointestinal conditions requiring immediate intervention (e.g., life-threatening intestinal obstruction, perforation, hemorrhage, ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease, celiac disease, or eosinophilic esophagitis). * Diagnosis of severe malnutrition, underweight status (BMI-for-age \<3rd percentile), or severe immunodeficiency disorders. * History of severe allergic reactions (e.g., anaphylaxis). * Monogenic disorders (e.g., Fragile X syndrome, Rett syndrome). * Comorbid psychiatric diagnoses, including depression, developmental speech/language disorders, intellectual disability, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), selective mutism, reactive attachment disorder, or childhood schizophrenia.
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Children's Hospital, Shenzhen
RECRUITINGShenzhen, Guangdong, 518026, China
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Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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