Sulphation deficit in “low-functioning” autistic children: a pilot study

Background: Parents of autistic children and autism support groups often report that autistic episodes are exacerbated when the children eat certain foodstuffs such as dairy products, chocolates, wheat, corn sugar, apples, and bananas. The hypothesis that autistic behavior might be related to metabo...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Biological psychiatry (1969) 1999-08, Vol.46 (3), p.420-424
Main Authors: Alberti, Antonino, Pirrone, Patrizia, Elia, Maurizio, Waring, Rosemary H, Romano, Corrado
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acetaminophen - administration & dosage
Acetaminophen - analogs & derivatives
Acetaminophen - urine
Administration, Oral
Adolescent
Analgesics, Non-Narcotic - administration & dosage
Analgesics, Non-Narcotic - urine
autism
Autistic Disorder - etiology
Autistic Disorder - metabolism
Biological and medical sciences
Child
Child clinical studies
Child, Preschool
Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid - methods
Developmental disorders
Female
Food - adverse effects
HPLC
Humans
Infantile autism
Male
Medical sciences
Metabolism, Inborn Errors - metabolism
paracetamol
Pilot Projects
PS/PG ratio
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Sulfates - metabolism
Sulphation
urine
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Summary:Background: Parents of autistic children and autism support groups often report that autistic episodes are exacerbated when the children eat certain foodstuffs such as dairy products, chocolates, wheat, corn sugar, apples, and bananas. The hypothesis that autistic behavior might be related to metabolic dysfunctions has led us to investigate in a group of “low functioning” autistic children and in an age-matched control group each made up of 20 subjects, the sulphation capacity available. Methods: Utilizing the biochemical characteristics of paracetamol we evaluated by high performance liquid chromatography, the urine paracetamol–sulfate/paracetamol-glucuronide (PS/PG) ratio in all subjects following administration of this drug. Results: The PS/PG ratio in the group of autistic subjects gave a significantly lower result than the control group with p < .00002. Conclusions: The inability to effectively metabolize certain compounds particularly phenolic amines, toxic for the CNS, could exacerbate the wide spectrum of autistic behavior.
ISSN:0006-3223
1873-2402
DOI:10.1016/S0006-3223(98)00337-0