Altered Vascular Phenotype in Autism: Correlation with Oxidative Stress

Layperson Summary:

This article suggests that autism may be associated with oxidative stress as well as changes in blood circulation.

It is already known that children with autism are likely to have more oxidative stress, or difficulty in managing free radicals, than children who do not have autism. It is also known that children with autism have unusual blood circulation. The authors of this study set out to determine if these facts could be biologically linked to one another. To do so, they tested the urine of 26 children with autism and 12 controls (ages not given) for biomarkers of oxidative stress (isoprostane) as well as two biomarkers for abnormal blood cells and blood flow. They found that the children with autism had significantly higher levels of all three biomarkers than the controls. They also found a significant correlation between the level of isoprostane and the levels of the two biomarkers for abnormal blood cells and blood flow, suggesting that there is a link between oxidative stress and changes in blood circulation in children with autism.

Scientific Abstract