Sliwinski Sonja, Croonenberghs Jan, Christophe Armand, Deboutte Dirk, Maes Michael
University Center of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, ZNA Middelheim, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, Belgium.
Neuro Endocrinol Lett. 2006 Aug;27(4):465-71.
There is now some evidence that alterations in fatty acids may play a role in the pathophysiology of autism. The aim of the present study was to examine whether autism is accompanied by abnormalities in the composition of the polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) in plasma phospholipids.
The plasma phospholipid omega-3 (3) and omega-6 (6) PUFA fractions and the 3/6 ratio were measured in 16 high-functioning male youngsters with autism (age 12-18) and 22 healthy volunteers. Group mean differences were assessed by means of analysis of variance (ANOVA).
In autism there was a significant increase in the fraction of C22:6-3 (docosahexaenoic acid, DHA) and an increase in the total 3/6 ratio.
The results of this study suggest that an increase of the plasma phospholipid 3 PUFAs, in particular DHA, and of the total 3/6 ratio may take part in the pathophysiology of autism. One hypothesis is that an increase of 3 PUFAs may cause alterations in the serotonergic turnover and the immune response system, both known to be associated with autism. Caution must be exercised against highly concentrated 3 PUFAs supplementation.
目前有一些证据表明脂肪酸的改变可能在自闭症的病理生理学中起作用。本研究的目的是检验自闭症是否伴有血浆磷脂中多不饱和脂肪酸（PUFA）组成的异常。
对16名患有自闭症的高功能男性青少年（年龄12 - 18岁）和22名健康志愿者测量血浆磷脂中ω-3（3）和ω-6（6）PUFA组分以及3/6比值。通过方差分析（ANOVA）评估组间均值差异。
在自闭症患者中，C22:6-3（二十二碳六烯酸，DHA）组分显著增加，总3/6比值升高。
本研究结果表明血浆磷脂中ω-3 PUFA，特别是DHA以及总3/6比值的增加可能参与了自闭症的病理生理学过程。一种假设是ω-3 PUFA的增加可能导致血清素代谢和免疫反应系统的改变，这两者都已知与自闭症有关。对于高浓度ω-3 PUFA补充剂必须谨慎使用。
