Last modified: 2014-04-03
Abstract
Objective: The neurobiological basis of autism remains poorly understood. We hypothesized that endothelial antibodies may be associated with the physiology of autism and may predict intellectual/social developmental abnormalities.
Methods: Plasma levels of anti-endothelial cell antibodies (AECAs) were measured by ELISA in autistic children (n=55) and age-matched healthy controls (n=25).
Results: The serum level of AECAs in children with autism (N = 55, 306.4 ± 45.6 pg/mL [mean ± SEM]) was higher (two-tailed student's t-test: p = 0.05) than that of healthy control subjects (N = 25, 209.6 ± 24.6 pg/mL [mean ± SEM]). Children with severe autism exhibited significantly higher AECAs than did healthy controls (diagnoses of autistic children based on the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) score, > 40) (N = 20, 369.6 ± 65.6 pg/mL [mean ± SEM]) (p = 0.03). Disease severity and the CARS score, which represents stereotyped patterns of behavior in children with autism, were positively correlated (r2 = 0.27, p = 0.05).
Conclusions: Elevated AECA serum levels may be implicated in the pathogenesis of autism. However, these data should be treated with caution until further investigations are performed using larger subject populations of autism.