title: Speculations on vitamin K, VKORC1 genotype and autism.
abstract: Humans vary in the gene that encodes for Vitamin K epoxide reductase complex (VKORC1). Recent research has documented the protective effect of Vitamin K on neural cells and its role in maintaining normal neural development. Of interest, specific neural effects of Vitamin K overlap with key brain development aberrations, including those associated with autism. Furthermore, Vitamin K protects against oxidative stress associated with toxic exposure. Research on the neural effects is reviewed, and a small sample of severely autistic children of Somali descent residing in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area of Minnesota were genotyped and found to have a higher than expected genetic substitution that results in reduction in the efficiency of the Vitamin K cycle. The possibility that this genetic difference could play an etiological role in the development of autism is considered.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Northern Iowa, Bartlett Hall, Cedar Falls, IA 50614-0505, United States. Electronic address: desoto@uni.edu.
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: DeSoto
mesh_terms: D000483:Alleles; D017209:Apoptosis; D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000235:genetics*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008910:Minnesota; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D009420:Nervous System; D018384:Oxidative Stress; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D012998:Somalia; D014807:Vitamin D / Q000097:blood; D014812:Vitamin K / Q000378:metabolism*; D064417:Vitamin K Epoxide Reductases / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D014812:Vitamin K; D014807:Vitamin D; C578523:VKORC1 protein, human; D064417:Vitamin K Epoxide Reductases
keywords: Autism; Autism etiology; Somali; VKORC1; Vitamin K