title: Urinary p-cresol is elevated in small children with severe autism spectrum disorder.
abstract: Several studies have described in autistic patients an overgrowth of unusual gut bacterial strains, able to push the fermentation of tyrosine up to the formation of p-cresol. We compared levels of urinary p-cresol, measured by high-performance liquid chromatography-ultraviolet, in 59 matched case-control pairs. Urinary p-cresol was significantly elevated in autistic children smaller than 8 years of age (p < 0.01), typically females (p < 0.05), and more severely affected regardless of sex (p < 0.05). Urinary cotinine measurements excluded smoking-related hydrocarbon contaminations as contributors to these differences. Hence, elevated urinary p-cresol may serve as a biomarker of autism liability in small children, especially females and more severely affected males.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Molecular Psychiatry and Neurogenetics, University Campus Bio-Medico, Via Alvaro del Portillo 21, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Altieri
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Neri
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sacco
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Curatolo
authors.forename: Arianna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Benvenuto
authors.forename: Filippo
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Muratori
authors.forename: Elisa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Santocchi
authors.forename: Carmela
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bravaccio
authors.forename: Carlo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lenti
authors.forename: Monica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Saccani
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rigardetto
authors.forename: Marina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gandione
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Urbani
authors.forename: Antonio M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Persico
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000652:urine; D002648:Child; D002659:Child Development Disorders, Pervasive / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000652:urine*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003367:Cotinine / Q000652:urine; D003408:Cresols / Q000652:urine*; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012044:Regression Analysis
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D003408:Cresols; C032538:4-cresol; D003367:Cotinine