CSF β-endorphin levels in patients with infantile autism

We measured CSF levels of beta-endorphin, an opioid hormone, in 19 patients with infantile autism and in 3 patients with Rett syndrome, and compared them with control values. In infantile autism, CSF levels of beta-endorphin did not differ significantly from those of age-matched controls. There was...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of autism and developmental disorders 1997-04, Vol.27 (2), p.155-163
Main Authors: NAGAMITSU, S, MATSUISHI, T, KISA, T, KOMORI, H, MIYAZAKI, M, HASHIMOTO, T, YAMASHITA, Y, OHTAKI, E, KATO, H
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Autistic Disorder - cerebrospinal fluid
beta-Endorphin - cerebrospinal fluid
Biological and medical sciences
Child
Child clinical studies
Developmental disorders
Female
Humans
Infantile autism
Male
Matched-Pair Analysis
Medical sciences
Neurons - chemistry
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Rett Syndrome - cerebrospinal fluid
Self-Injurious Behavior - cerebrospinal fluid
Stereotyped Behavior
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Summary:We measured CSF levels of beta-endorphin, an opioid hormone, in 19 patients with infantile autism and in 3 patients with Rett syndrome, and compared them with control values. In infantile autism, CSF levels of beta-endorphin did not differ significantly from those of age-matched controls. There was no significant correlation between CSF levels and clinical symptoms, including self-injurious behavior, pain insensitivity, and stereotyped movement. However, CSF levels of beta-endorphin were significantly higher in the patients with Rett syndrome than in the control (p < .05). Data suggest that neurons containing beta-endorphin may not be involved in patients with infantile autism. Thus, there is no relationship between dysfunction of brain opioid and autism.
ISSN:0162-3257
1573-3432
DOI:10.1023/A:1025839807431