Blood sample analysis showed that, two to five years after birth, mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) had several significantly different metabolite levels compared to mothers who usually have children. developing. That’s according to a new study recently published in BMC Pediatrics with a multidisciplinary team from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Arizona State University, and the Mayo Clinic.
Researchers analyzed blood samples from 30 mothers whose young children were diagnosed with ASD and 29 mothers with children who were normally developing. At the time the samples were taken, the females were between 2 and 5 years old. The team found differences in several metabolite levels between the two groups of mothers. Upon further study, researchers were able to categorize these differences into five subgroups of related metabolites. Although the analyzed samples were taken several years after pregnancy, these study findings raise the question of whether or not the differences in metabolites were present when you were heavy as well, suggesting that further research is needed in this area.
Many of the variables, the researchers said, were related to low levels of folate, vitamin B12, and carnitine-conjugated molecules. Carnitine can be produced by the body and can come from meat sources such as pork or beef, but mothers who ate more meat were not associated with mothers who had higher levels of carnitine.
According to Juergen Hahn, head of the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Rensselaer and co-author of this paper, this finding shows that the differences may be related to how carnitine is metabolized in the bodies of some mothers.
“We had a number of metabolites associated with carnitine metabolism,” said Hahn, who is also a member of Rensselaer’s Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies. “This suggests that carnitine and mothers are something to look out for.”
The team’s big data approach had been very accurate in using blood sample analysis to predict which group the mother belonged to, indicating that a blood test should be developed to screen. for mothers who are at greater risk of having a child with ASD it may be possible.
“A blood test would not be able to tell if your child has autism or not, but it could tell if you are at higher risk,” Hahn said. “And higher risk classification, in this case, can be really important.”
“Based on these results, we are now conducting a new study of blood samples collected during pregnancy, to see if these metabolites also differ during pregnancy,” James said. Adams, President Professor in the School of Case, Transportation and Energy Engineering, and director of the Autism / Asperger Research Program, both at Arizona State University. Adams was a co-author of this paper with Hahn.
This research builds on Hahn’s other work. He has previously discovered patterns with certain metabolites in the blood of children with autism that can be used to confirm a successful prognosis. He has used the same method to study a mother’s risk for having a baby with ASD. He and Adams have also done similar work studying children with autism who have gastrointestinal issues.
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