Neurobiology of autism: Study of a sample of autistic children - Neurobiologia dell'autismo: studio di un campione di soggetti autistici in età evolutiva

Aim: Recent study of the neuroanatomic, neurofunctional and/or neurochemical features of autistic disorder (AD) gave many evidences suggesting the hypothesis that different organic factors may lead to a disruption of the cerebral development finally expressing with an autistic pattern. The aim of this study was to study a sample of subjects with AD with a wide protocol including neurophysiological and radiological investigation as well as laboratory investigations in order to investigate the neurobiologic basis of the syndrome. Methods: the patients group included 80 subjects diagnosed has having AD. All were examined with a protocol of investigations including: brain MRI; wakefulness and sleep EEG; VEP, ABR; Karyotype and search of Fragile X ; serum and urinary levels of serotonin, catecolamines, omovanillic acids, aminoacids, ammonium, lactic acid, creatine Kinase, piruvic acid, calcium, uric acid, total proteins, antibodies against neurotrophic agents. Results: eighty-eight percent of subjects had at least one pathologic neurobiological parameter. Conclusions: This study highligths the different noxae involved in the etiopathogenesis of AD and the percentage that every biological factors has in the development of the autistic phenotype. Furthemore, that confrms that AD corresponds to an atypical behavioural phenotype expression of a cerebral dysfunction with eterogeneous etiology .