title: Increased homocysteine levels correlate with the communication deficit in children with autism spectrum disorder.
abstract: The clinical significance of high levels of homocysteine in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is unknown. An experimental study was conducted in order to evaluate the concentration of homocysteine in children with ASD and typically developing children and to analyse any relationships with the severity of core symptoms of ASD and other clinical features (drugs, co-morbidities, gender, age, diet). Core symptoms of autism were evaluated by DSM-IV criteria. Homocysteine, glutathione, methionine, 3-nitrotyrosine were measured in urine. The increase in homocysteine concentration was significantly and directly correlated with the severity of the deficit in communication skills, but was unrelated to deficit in socialisation or repetitive/restricted behaviour. Urinary homocysteine concentration may be a possible biomarker for communication deficits in ASD and a potential diagnostic tool useful to evaluate new treatment options since no treatment for core symptoms of ASD are available.
authors.affiliation: Area of Mental Health and Psychiatry, Hospital of Sagunto, Sagunto, Valencia, Spain.
authors.forename: Carmen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Puig-Alcaraz
authors.affiliation: Children׳s Mental Health Centre, Hospital Arnau de Villanova, Valencia, Spain.
authors.forename: Milagros
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fuentes-Albero
authors.affiliation: Diagnostic Centre Calderón, Castellón, Spain.
authors.forename: Jesús
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Calderón
authors.affiliation: Diagnostic Centre CEDIN, Valencia, Spain.
authors.forename: Dolores
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Garrote
authors.affiliation: Department of Nursing, University of Valencia, c/Jaume Roig s/n, 46010 Valencia, Spain. Electronic address: Omar.Cauli@uv.es.
authors.forename: Omar
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Cauli
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000067877:Autism Spectrum Disorder / Q000150:complications / Q000652:urine*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000652:urine*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003147:Communication Disorders / Q000209:etiology / Q000652:urine*; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005260:Female; D005978:Glutathione / Q000652:urine; D006710:Homocysteine / Q000652:urine*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008715:Methionine / Q000652:urine; D014443:Tyrosine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000652:urine
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D006710:Homocysteine; C002744:3-nitrotyrosine; D014443:Tyrosine; D008715:Methionine; D005978:Glutathione
keywords: Autism spectrum disorder; Biomarker; Core symptoms; Homocysteine; Language development; Metabolism