Decreased tryptophan metabolism in patients with autism spectrum disorders.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are relatively common neurodevelopmental conditions whose biological basis has been incompletely determined. Several biochemical markers have been associated with ASDs, but there is still no laboratory test for these conditions.

Methods

We analyzed the metabolic profile of lymphoblastoid cell lines from 137 patients with neurodevelopmental disorders with or without ASDs and 78 normal individuals, using Biolog Phenotype MicroArrays.

Results

Metabolic profiling of lymphoblastoid cells revealed that the 87 patients with ASD as a clinical feature, as compared to the 78 controls, exhibited on average reduced generation of NADH when tryptophan was the sole energy source. The results correlated with the behavioral traits associated

SUBMITTER: Boccuto L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3680090 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature