title: Serum levels of Glial fibrillary acidic protein in Chinese children with autism spectrum disorders.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) has been studied in many neurological diseases. The purpose of this study is to investigate the potential role of GFAP in Chinese children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) by measuring serum circulating levels of GFAP and comparing them with age and gender-matched typical development children.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of one hundred and fifty 2-6 years old Chinese children (75 confirmed autism cases and 75 their age-gender matched typical development children) participated in this study. Serum levels of GFAP were assayed with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay methods, and severity of ASD was evaluated with the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) Score.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The results indicated that the mean serum GFAP level was significantly (P<0.001) higher in autistic children as compared to controls (1.71±0.53ng/ml vs. 0.99±0.25ng/ml). There was a significant positive association between serum GFAP levels and CARS scores (r [Pearson]=0.390, P=0.001). Based on the Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, the optimal cut-off value of serum GFAP levels as an indicator for auxiliary diagnosis of autism was projected to be 1.28ng/ml which yielded a sensitivity of 77.3% and a specificity of 88.4%, the area under the curve was 0.895(95%CI, 0.844-0.947). Further, an increased risk of ASD was associated with GFAP levels >1.28ng/ml (adjusted OR 9.88, 95% CI: 3.32-17.82) in the multivariate logistic analysis model.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The data indicates that serum GFAP levels may be associated with severity of ASD among Chinese children, suggesting the hypothesis that increased serum levels of GFAP could be implicated in the pathophysiology of autism in Chinese children.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong University, Jinan 250021, China; Department of Pediatrics, Yantaishan Hospital, Yantai 264001, China.
authors.forename: Jingwei
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Children's Health Prevention, Zhangjiagang Women and Children Health Center, Zhangjiagang 215600, China.
authors.forename: Qiuyan
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zou
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Yantaishan Hospital, Yantai 264001, China.
authors.forename: Renfeng
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, People's Hospital of Rizhao, Rizhao 276500, China.
authors.forename: Yupeng
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong University, Jinan 250021, China. Electronic address: wangyulin1224@163.com.
authors.forename: Yulin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D044466:Asian People; D000067877:Autism Spectrum Disorder / Q000097:blood* / Q000208:ethnology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005904:Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012372:ROC Curve; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013223:Statistics as Topic
chemical_list: D005904:Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein
keywords: Autism spectrum disorders; Chinese; Glial fibrillary acidic protein