An application of neuroendocrinological studies in autistic children and Heller's syndrome

The response of plasma 11-hydroxycorticosteroids (11-OHCS) to intravenous pyrogen as well as the circadian rhythm of plasma 11-OHCS levels were investigated in seven autistic children and in two children with Heller's syndrome. In autistic children, the stress response, which is acquired in an earlier stage of development, was adequately sustained. However, the circadian rhythm, which seems to appear at a later stage with the maturity of the CNS, frequently revealed abnormal patterns. Similar findings were obtained in the Heller's syndrome cases, indicating organic changes in the brain. On the basis of these results, it is postulated that in early infantile autism there exist some functional changes in the CNS that show a close correlation to the regulatory mechanism of ACTH secretion.