Abstract
Background
Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are devastating neurodevelopmental disorders that
showed global increased prevalence. They are characterized by impairment of social
communication and stereotyped patterns.
Objective
This study aimed at measuring the levels of total sialic acid (SA) and anti-ganglioside
M1 (anti- GM1) IgG antibodies as essential biomarkers in a cohort of children with
ASD to identify their diagnostic yield as well as their correlation with the severity
of autistic behaviors.
Methods
The demographic characteristics, anthropometric measurements, and clinical data were
recorded. The levels of total plasma SA and serum anti-GM1 IgG antibodies levels were
measured in 100 children with ASD and 100 healthy controls. The severity of ASD-related
symptoms was assessed by using the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS).
Results
Children with ASD had significantly higher levels of both SA and anti-GM1 antibodies
than healthy controls (p < 0.001). SA showed a statistically significant moderate
diagnostic performance while anti-GM1 antibody showed a statistically significant
high diagnostic in differentiating severe from mild to moderate autism. Moreover,
both SA and anti-GM1 antibodies levels were significantly correlated to the severity
of ASD symptoms (p < 0.001).
Conclusion
The significantly increased levels of SA and anti-GM1 antibodies in children with
ASD and their correlation with autism-related symptoms suggest their possible etiopathogenic
role in autism as one of the pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorders. However,
further large-scale studies are still needed to explore their possible bidirectional
relationship as biomarkers for autism.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: December 13, 2022
Accepted:
November 28,
2022
Received in revised form:
November 23,
2022
Received:
September 20,
2022
Publication stage
In Press Corrected ProofIdentification
Copyright
© 2022 The Japanese Society of Child Neurology. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
