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Purpose: The prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has increased tenfold over the last 40 years and the World Health Organization (WHO) has placed it alongside other globally occurring common illnesses, such as cancer, cardiovascular disorders and diabetes. As there are yet no effective methods for treating ASD, the most frequently used therapeutic interventions are psychological, psychosocial, rehabilitation and developmental support, which in combination aim to support patients and their families. Early intervention improves the prognosis, but usually a cure is impossible. Patient's lives are often burdened with social difficulties in contact with their families, peers and in education, particularly when other disorders, diseases or intellectual impairment are present, leading to undesirable behaviours, including aggression or self-aggression. Aim of the study was to review the literature available, so as to determine the effectiveness of probiotics used for treating core and accompanying symptoms of autism in patients diagnosed with ASD, with a particular focus on children and adolescents., Views: The randomised clinical trials available on the clinicaltrials.gov register (accessed on June 27 th , 2021) and the PubMed database (search: probiotic + autism, probiotic + ASD, probiotic + Asperger syndrome, probiotic + pervasive developmental disorder, randomised controlled trial filter) have been analysed in the present study. All studies were included, without any operational time limit. The same PubMed search was also re-run for open-label trials. Out of the 140 papers found, five were open-trials. We also supplemented our study by additionally analysing the studies cited by the latest papers on probiotics in autism., Conclusions: There are still no consistent outcomes in studies on the use of probiotics in children and adolescents with ASD, and the scope of existing studies is limited. Nevertheless, the authors considered it worthwhile to explore whether probiotic interventions can indeed reduce the severity of ASD-related symptoms and behaviours. Further studies are required on specific indications, duration of treatment and the effectiveness of interventions in the defined problem areas., Competing Interests: Absent., (Copyright © 2022 Institute of Psychiatry and Neurology.)

Minor physical abnormalities (MPA) are subtle dysmorphic features of bodily structures that have little or no impact on function. Most MPA develop during the first gestational trimester and are considered as important indicators of neuroectodermal deficiencies emerging during early brain development. A higher frequency of MPA was confirmed in schizophrenia patients and their relatives, when compared to controls. These findings are consistent with the neurodevelopmental model of schizophrenia. A neurodevelopmental component amongst other risk factors has also been recently proposed for anorexia nervosa (AN). The current study aimed to assess MPA frequency in adolescent inpatients with either schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD) or AN as compared to healthy controls (HC). The Waldrop Scale was used for assessing MPA. The mean MPA total score and mean head subscore was significantly higher in both test groups than in HC. There were no statistically significant differences between SSD and AN groups. The MPA profile (not frequency) was similar in all three groups. This finding is consistent both with widely acknowledged neurodevelopmental schizophrenia hypothesis as well as with more recent neurodevelopmental model of AN. Nevertheless, the findings should not be overgeneralized and further studies are warranted., (© 2021 The Authors. Brain and Behavior published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.)