Overview
- A peer-reviewed study reports the Microbially-Derived Metabolite (MDM) System can separate children with autism from typically developing peers by measuring 17 urine metabolites produced by gut microbes.
- In the study sample the test identified about 90% of children with autism and produced no false positives, based on 52 diagnosed children and 47 controls from four U.S. sites.
- The team proposes an 'ASD-MDM' subtype because roughly nine in ten study cases had one or more markedly elevated metabolites tied to tyrosine, tryptophan and phenylalanine pathways and to yeast activity.
- The test is already being offered through a partner laboratory internationally and linked to a CLIA-certified lab, but the researchers stress it is a screening or triage tool not a standalone diagnostic and needs broader, more diverse validation.
- The findings revive interest in microbiome-directed approaches because earlier trials showed lowering specific metabolites such as p‑cresol sulfate with microbiota transplant coincided with symptom improvement, a result that the authors say requires rigorous follow-up trials and careful clinical study.