Research: Neurometabolic Disorders and Dysfunction in Autism Spectrum Disorders

Authored by Zecavati, N., and Spence SJ in Current Neurology and Neuroscience Reports, Volume 9, Issue 2, p. 129-136, (2009).

Article summary (posted Apr 6, 2009):

Future research may show that metabolic supplements such as carnitine, coenzyme Q, and/or vitamin B12 can help some children with autism.

This review article describes the role of energy use (metabolism) in autism. The authors describe how some metabolic disorders can give the symptoms of autism. There are no good studies that show how many children with autism have metabolic problems. The authors suggest that doctors look at each patient and decide whether or not to order metabolic tests. Some metabolic problems have simple treatments such as eating more cholesterol or taking biotin supplements.

Links:

You can access the original abstract and the complete paper is sometimes available for free via Google Scholar (look for entries that say "PDF" or "HTML" on the right side of the page).
autism, autism spectrum disorder (ASD), biotin, carnitine, coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), doctor, eating, energy, metabolism, neuroscience, review article, supplements, treatment, vitamin, vitamin B12 (cyanocobalamin)
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