1. El-Ansary AK, Ben Bacha AG, Al-Ayadhi LY. {{Plasma fatty acids as diagnostic markers in autistic patients from Saudi Arabia}}. {Lipids Health Dis};2011 (Apr 21);10(1):62.
ABSTRACT: Backgrounds: Autism is a family of developmental disorders of unknown origin. The disorder is characterized by behavioral, developmental, neuropathological and sensory abnormalities, and is usually diagnosed between the ages of 2 and 10 with peak prevalence rates observed in children aged 5-8 years. Recently, there has been heightened interest in the role of plasma free fatty acids (FA) in the pathology of neurological disorders. The aim of this study is to compare plasma fatty acid profiles of Saudi autistic patients with those of age-matching control subjects in an attempt to clarify the role of FA in the etiology of autism. Methods: 26 autistic patients together with 26-age-matching controls were enrolled in the present study. Methyl esters of FA were extracted with hexane, and the fatty acid composition of the extract was analyzed on a gas chromatography. RESULTS: The obtained data proved that fatty acids are altered in the plasma of autistic patients, specifically showing an increase in most of the saturated fatty acids except for propionic acid, and a decrease in most of polyunsaturated fatty acids. The altered fatty acid profile was discussed in relation to oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction and the high lead (Pb) concentration previously reported in Saudi autistic patients. Statistical analysis of the obtained data shows that most of the measured fatty acids were significantly different in autistic patients compared to age -matching controls. CONCLUSIONS: Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis shows satisfactory values of area under the curve (AUC) which could reflect the high degree of specificity and sensitivity of the altered fatty acids as biomarkers in autistic patients from Saudi Arabia.
2. Judson MC, Eagleson KL, Levitt P. {{A new synaptic player leading to autism risk: Met receptor tyrosine kinase}}. {J Neurodev Disord};2011 (Apr 21)
The validity for assigning disorder risk to an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) candidate gene comes from convergent genetic, clinical, and developmental neurobiology data. Here, we review these lines of evidence from multiple human genetic studies, and non-human primate and mouse experiments that support the conclusion that the MET receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) functions to influence synapse development in circuits relevant to certain core behavioral domains of ASD. There is association of both common functional alleles and rare copy number variants that impact levels of MET expression in the human cortex. The timing of Met expression is linked to axon terminal outgrowth and synaptogenesis in the developing rodent and primate forebrain, and both in vitro and in vivo studies implicate this RTK in dendritic branching, spine maturation, and excitatory connectivity in the neocortex. This impact can occur in a cell-nonautonomous fashion, emphasizing the unique role that Met plays in specific circuits relevant to ASD.
3. Lewis S. {{Autism: Grooming mice to model autism}}. {Nat Rev Neurosci};2011 (May);12(5):248-249.
4. Rosenspire A, Yoo W, Menard S, Torres AR. {{Autism spectrum disorders are associated with an elevated autoantibody response to tissue transglutaminase-2}}. {Autism Res};2011 (Apr 19)
We report that a significant number of autistic children have serum levels of IgA antibodies above normal to the enzyme tissue transglutaminase II (TG2), and that expression of these antibodies to TG2 is linked to the (HLA)-DR3, DQ2 and DR7, DQ2 haplotypes. TG2 is expressed in the brain, where it has been shown to be important in cell adhesion and synaptic stabilization. Thus, these children appear to constitute a subpopulation of autistic children who fall within the autism disease spectrum, and for whom autoimmunity may represent a significant etiological component of their autism. Autism Res 2011,4:xxx-xxx. (c) 2011 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
5. Sheldrick RC, Neger EN, Shipman D, Perrin EC. {{Quality of life of adolescents with autism spectrum disorders: concordance among adolescents’ self-reports, parents’ reports, and parents’ proxy reports}}. {Qual Life Res};2011 (Apr 21)
PURPOSE: To compare adolescent self-reports with two types of parent reports regarding the quality of life (QoL) of adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs): (1) standard parent reports, in which parents give their own perspective on their adolescent child’s QoL and (2) parent proxy reports, in which parents indicate how they believe their adolescent child would answer. METHODS: Thirty-nine adolescents with ASDs and their parents completed the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL). Parents completed the form twice, once using standard parent report instructions and again using proxy instructions. Concordance among the three reports was evaluated via Pearson correlations. Differences in means were assessed via ANOVAs. RESULTS: Correlations were higher between parent proxy reports and adolescent self-reports than between standard parent reports and adolescent self-reports. In addition, average scores on the parent proxy reports were closer to adolescents’ self-reports than were average scores on the standard parent reports. CONCLUSIONS: These results demonstrate that parents of adolescents with ASDs have different opinions about their children’s quality of life than their children do, and that they are aware of these differences. If the goal is to reduce discrepancy between the reports of parents and their adolescent children with ASDs, it may be advisable to ask parents to report on their child’s QoL as they believe their children would.
