Dr Murch, of the centre for paediatric gastroenterology at the Royal Free Hospital in London, was one of the authors of a 1998 paper published in the Lancet which looked at the connection between inflammatory bowel disease and autistic disorders.

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Autistic spectrum disorders, including Asperger's syndrome, are thought to affect about 1% of the population worldwide.

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Valicenti-McDermott M, et al. Frequency of gastrointestinal symptoms in children with autistic spectrum disorders and association with family history of autoimmune disease.

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The researchers used fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) scans to monitor brain activity in 15 people with autistic spectrum disorders and 15 without.

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To our knowledge, no published information is available on how their characteristics may differ from the general population of children with autistic spectrum disorders.

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Parracho HM, Bingham MO, Gibson GR, McCartney AL. Differences between the gut microflora of children with autistic spectrum disorders and that of healthy children.

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Ms Gough has personal experience of the disorder through a member of her family and wanted to help passengers whose children have Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD).

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But they caution that the research does not provide the complete answer as there were other behaviours seen in people with autistic spectrum disorders - such as repetitive behaviours - which were not seen in the mice.

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