The severity of autism is associated with toxic metal body burden and red blood cell glutathione levels

J B Adams, M Baral, E Geis, J Mitchell, J Ingram, A Hensley, I Zappia, S Newmark, E Gehn, R A Rubin, K Mitchell, J Bradstreet, J M El-Dahr, J B Adams, M Baral, E Geis, J Mitchell, J Ingram, A Hensley, I Zappia, S Newmark, E Gehn, R A Rubin, K Mitchell, J Bradstreet, J M El-Dahr

Abstract

This study investigated the relationship of children's autism symptoms with their toxic metal body burden and red blood cell (RBC) glutathione levels. In children ages 3-8 years, the severity of autism was assessed using four tools: ADOS, PDD-BI, ATEC, and SAS. Toxic metal body burden was assessed by measuring urinary excretion of toxic metals, both before and after oral dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA). Multiple positive correlations were found between the severity of autism and the urinary excretion of toxic metals. Variations in the severity of autism measurements could be explained, in part, by regression analyses of urinary excretion of toxic metals before and after DMSA and the level of RBC glutathione (adjusted R(2) of 0.22-0.45, P < .005 in all cases). This study demonstrates a significant positive association between the severity of autism and the relative body burden of toxic metals.

References

    1. Bernard S, Enayati A, Redwood L, Roger H, Binstock T. Autism: a novel form of mercury poisoning. Medical Hypotheses. 2001;56(4):462–471.
    1. Windham GC, Zhang L, Gunier R, Croen LA, Grether JK. Autism spectrum disorders in relation to distribution of hazardous air pollutants in the San Francisco Bay area. Environmental Health Perspectives. 2006;114(9):1438–1444.
    1. DeSoto MC, Hitlan RT. Blood levels of mercury are related to diagnosis of autism: a reanalysis of an important data set. Journal of Child Neurology. 2007;22(11):1308–1311.
    1. Adams JB, Romdalvik J, Ramanujam VMS, Legator MS. Mercury, lead, and zinc in baby teeth of children with autism versus controls. Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health Part A. 2007;70(12):1046–1051.
    1. Bradstreet J, Geier DA, Kartzinel JJ, Adams JB, Geier MR. A case-control study of mercury burden in children with autistic spectrum disorders. Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons. 2003;8(3):76–79.
    1. Lord C, Rutter M, Goode S, et al. Autism diagnostic observation schedule: a standardized observation of communicative and social behavior. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. 1989;19(2):185–212.
    1. Cohen IL, Schmidt-Lackner S, Romanczyk R, Sudhalter V. The PDD behavior inventory: a rating scale for assessing response to intervention in children with pervasive developmental disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. 2003;33(1):31–45.
    1. Rimland B, Edelson S. Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist: Statistical Analyses. San Diego, Calif, USA: Autism Research Institute; 2000.
    1. Zalups RK. Influence of 2,3-dimercaptopropane-1-sulfonate (DMPS) and meso-2,3- dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) on the renal disposition of mercury in normal and uninephrectomized rats exposed to inorganic mercury. Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics. 1993;267(2):791–800.
    1. Adams JB, Baral M, Geis E, et al. Safety and efficacy of oral DMSA therapy for children with autism spectrum disorders: part A—medical results
    1. Adams JB, Baral M, Geis E, et al. Safety and efficacy of oral DMSA therapy for children with autism spectrum disorders: part B—behavior results
    1. James SJ, Cutler P, Melnyk S, et al. Metabolic biomarkers of increased oxidative stress and impaired methylation capacity in children with autism. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2004;80(6):1611–1617.
    1. James SJ, Melnyk S, Jernigan S, et al. Metabolic endophenotype and related genotypes are associated with oxidative stress in children with autism. American Journal of Medical Genetics Part B. 2006;141(8):947–956.
    1. Geier DA, Kern JK, Garver CR, et al. Biomarkers of environmental toxicity and susceptibility in autism. Journal of the Neurological Sciences. 2009;280(1-2):101–108.
    1. Holmes AS, Blaxill MF, Haley BE. Reduced levels of mercury in first baby haircuts of autistic children. International Journal of Toxicology. 2003;22(4):277–285.
    1. Adams JB, Romdalvik J, Levine KE, Hu L-W. Mercury in first-cut baby hair of children with autism versus typically-developing children. Toxicological and Environmental Chemistry. 2008;90(4):739–753.

Source: PubMed

Sponzoři a spolupracovníci

Zdravotní podmínky

Drogové intervence

3
Předplatit