Recent evidence suggests that children with autism may have an impaired detoxification capacity and suffer from chronic oxidative stress; however, the oxidative metabolism specifically in Asperger syndrome has not been studied. The current study investigated the oxidative status of a group of adolescent patients with Asperger syndrome, a group of adolescents with a first episode of psychosis, and a group of healthy controls. Total antioxidant status (TAOS), non-enzymatic (glutathione and homocysteine) and enzymatic (catalase, superoxide dismutase, and glutathione peroxidase) antioxidants, and lipid peroxidation were measured in plasma or erythrocyte lysates at baseline, 8 to 12 weeks, and one year. TAOS was found to be reduced in Asperger individuals compared with healthy controls and psychosis patients after covarying by age and antipsychotic treatment. This reduced antioxidant capacity did not depend on any of the individual antioxidant variables measured. Psychosis patients had increased homocysteine levels in plasma and decreased copper and ceruloplasmin at baseline. No impaired detoxifying capacity was found in the first year of illness in the group of adolescents with a first episode of psychosis. The authors concluded that Asperger patients seem to have a chronic low detoxifying capacity. J Psychiatr Res. 2012 Jan 4. PMID: 22225920
