AUSTIN, Texas -- A maverick British scientist who now works in Austin has completed a new study on autism that links the disease to a novel intestinal illness.

The research, which will be published in this month's issue of the Journal of Clinical Immunology that is expected to come out today, opens the door to testing treatments for some autistic children, including a diet that forbids dairy products and certain grains.

Dr. Andy Wakefield, whose earlier work caused a furor by suggesting an association between a common childhood vaccine and autism, said he considers the latest research groundbreaking.

The study by Wakefield and three collaborators builds on previous research connecting autism and the gut.

But it goes several steps further: It identifies a new inflammatory intestinal disease in some children who appear normal but regress into autism; it suggests the intestinal disease is viral, thus giving clues about the nature of this type of autism; and it provides new targets for treating autism in some children.

"This now gives us the basis of what is driving that disease and what we can do to treat many children" who regress into autism, said Wakefield, who is setting up a research, education and treatment center for autistic children in Austin called the Thoughtful House.

"We hope this will form the basis for a new clinical trial." Nationally known autism expert Dr. Timothy Buie, a pediatrician specializing in gastrointestinal disorders at Massachusetts General Hospital for Children, called the research a welcome extension of Wakefield's earlier work into the relationship between autism and gastrointestinal symptoms, such as constipation and diarrhea. Buie is among the researchers studying bowel disease and autism, but he said it's too early to gauge the significance of Wakefield's findings.

Autism is a complex disorder that usually emerges during the first three years of life and affects the ability to communicate, reason and interact with others. Some type of autism is diagnosed in one in 166 individuals, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. According to the Autism Society of America, rates are soaring and could rise from 1.5 million Americans to 4 million in the next decade.

Autism is classified as a neurological disorder, but scientists don't know what causes it or how to cure it.

Though the new research expands the understanding of autism in a select group of children, "the jury is still out" on whether it extends to a larger group, said Buie, who also is on the Harvard Medical School faculty. "We're a long way from saying that these changes at the gut level are what is causing the autism." Dr. David Baskin, a professor of neurosurgery and anesthesiology at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, said the study "adds to a growing body of knowledge concerning children with autism and poses a number of important questions to be answered with additional research." Wakefield and his colleagues studied 86 children in England, including 21 with autism. They found that the autistic children had significantly more cells of a certain type in their digestive tracts associated with an intestinal inflammation causing them chronic problems.

Eleven of those children were on some dietary restrictions involving dairy products, gluten (grains, such as wheat and rye), or both. Their parents said the children functioned better, physically and mentally, according to the study. Those children also had fewer inflammatory chemicals in their intestines than those not on restricted diets, the study says.

The study recommends more research on the restricted diet. Autistic children across the country have been known to try it.

"It's really rather remarkable the differences I have seen in some children," said Peter Bell, executive director and chief executive officer of Cure Autism Now, an advocacy organization in Los Angeles that supports autism research.

But Bell said the diet had no effect on his autistic son, now 11.

Wakefield said the study also suggests that some drugs might help, but the paper does not recommend any. In an interview, Wakefield said Remicade, used to treat Crohn's disease and rheumatoid arthritis, merits further study.

The Food and Drug Administration issued warnings about Remicade after it was linked to lymphoma, malignancies and heart failure. Wakefield said he didn't want to mention the drug because he didn't want patients clamoring for it until it's been thoroughly tested for autism.

The gut's connection to the disorder has gained credence in the last five to 10 years, Bell said, although people outside the autism community might not know that.

Wakefield said the study found that the type of gastrointestinal illness the autistic children exhibited, though different than other inflammatory bowel diseases, is "similar to what we would see in HIV patients." "That's important," he said, "because it's a rationale for looking for a viral cause for autism." Wakefield received international notoriety following a 1998 article he published in the Lancet, a prestigious British medical journal, in which parents reported that they thought the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, known as MMR, could be linked to autism and a bowel disease in some children.

Though Wakefield said it was important to report what parents were saying, he insists he is a big vaccine supporter. However, he does favor separating the MMR into individual shots because the combination might harm some children.

Earlier this year, 10 of the 13 authors of the Lancet report disavowed the interpretation that MMR might cause autism. Wakefield was not one of them and was singled out in a "60 Minutes" report on the subject Oct. 24 for fueling anti-vaccine hysteria. (The new study does not discuss vaccines.) The Lancet said it would not have published the 1998 study had it known that Wakefield was helping parents of autistic children gather scientific information for a lawsuit over the MMR vaccine. The Legal Aid Board in England had paid the hospital where Wakefield worked $90,000 for his help.

Wakefield said last week that he didn't get any money and didn't do anything unethical. Although some of the same parents in the lawsuit also were involved in the Lancet study, Wakefield said, the Lancet paper was not done to "propagate a lawsuit." As the MMR vaccine controversy raged, Wakefield resigned under pressure from his job as an assistant professor of experimental gastroenterology at the Royal Free Hospital Medical School in London in 2001. He has been in the process of relocating to Austin for the past 18 months, he said, and plans to open the Thoughtful House in January.

The center will start with clinical services for autistic children and will gradually expand to a school. It also will do research studies.

Mary Ann Roser writes for the Austin American-Statesman. E-mail: maroser@statesman.com Editor Notes:Story Filed By Cox Newspapers For Use By Clients of the New York Times News Service

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