The current study was undertaken to compare the nutritional and metabolic status of children with autism with that of neurotypical children. Subjects were children ages 5-16 years in Arizona with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (n=55) compared with non-sibling, neurotypical controls (n=44) of similar age, gender and geographical distribution. Biomarkers of children with autism compared to those of controls found the following statistically significant differences (p<0.001): Low levels of biotin, plasma glutathione, RBC SAM, plasma uridine, plasma ATP, RBC NADH, RBC NADPH, plasma sulfate (free and total), and plasma tryptophan; also high levels of oxidative stress markers and plasma glutamate were found. A stepwise, multiple linear regression analysis demonstrated significant associations between several groups of biomarkers with three autism severity scales, including vitamins (adjusted R2 of 0.25-0.57), minerals (adjusted R2 of 0.22-0.38), and plasma amino acids (adjusted R2 of 0.22-0.39). The authors concluded that the autism group had many significant differences in their nutritional and metabolic status, including biomarkers indicative of vitamin insufficiency, increased oxidative stress, and reduced capacity for energy transport, sulfation and detoxification. Several of the biomarker groups were significantly associated with variations in the severity of autism. HYPERLINK “http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=Nutritional%20 and
%20Metabolic%20Status%20of%20Children%20with%20Autism%20vs.%20Neurotypical%20Children%2C%20and%20the%20 Association%20with%20Autism%20Severity%20”Nutr Metab (Lond). 2011 Jun 8;8(1):34. PMID: 21651783
