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Childhood psychosis and urinary excretion of peptides and protein-associated peptide complexes
Insights
Autistic children exhibit unique urinary chromatographic patterns, differing significantly from normal children and those with other developmental disorders. These distinct profiles may indicate central nervous system (CNS) involvement in autism.
Area of Science:
- Biochemistry
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Pediatrics
Background:
- Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex neurodevelopmental condition.
- Biochemical differences in individuals with ASD are increasingly being investigated.
- Urinary metabolite profiling offers a non-invasive method to explore biological variations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate chromatographic profiles of urinary products in infantile autistic children.
- To compare these profiles with those of children with other neurodevelopmental and psychiatric conditions, as well as normal controls.
- To identify potential biochemical markers associated with autism.
Main Methods:
- Chromatographic analysis of urinary products with ultraviolet absorbency at 280 nm.
- Comparison of chromatographic patterns across groups: autistic children, children with other psychoses, minimal brain dysfunction, attention deficit disorder, mental retardation, and normal children.
- Identification and categorization of distinct chromatographic patterns.
Main Results:
- Six main chromatographic patterns were identified.
- A distinct pattern was observed in 54% of autistic children and 17% of children with other psychoses, absent in other groups.
- Only 8% of autistic children displayed the "normal" pattern, unlike 95% of normal and 93% of mentally retarded children.
- The observed ultraviolet absorbency peaks likely represent peptides and protein-associated peptide complexes, potentially of central nervous system (CNS) origin.
Conclusions:
- Infantile autism is associated with unique urinary chromatographic profiles.
- These findings suggest potential biochemical distinctions in autistic children, possibly linked to CNS processes.
- Urinary metabolite analysis may serve as a valuable tool for autism research and biomarker discovery.
Abstract:
Twenty-four infantile autistic children were compared with 12 children with other kinds of childhood psychoses, 5 children with so-called minimal brain dysfunction syndrome, 5 children with attention deficit disorder, 14 children with mental retardation, and 19 normal children with regard to chromatographic profiles of urinary products that give ultraviolet absorbency at 280 nm. Six main types of chromatographic patterns emerged. Fifty-four percent of the autistic children and 17% of the children with other psychoses showed a distinct pattern that was not seen in any other cases. Only 8% of the autistic children showed the "normal" pattern seen in 95% of the normal and 93% of the mentally retarded children without psychosis. The ultraviolet absorbency peaks of the chromatograms possibly correspond to peptides and protein-associated peptide complexes. It is argued that these products are probably at least partly of CNS origin.