Department of Biochemistry, Bharathi Women's College, Chennai, 600 108 Tamil Nadu, India.
Biol Trace Elem Res. 2011 Aug;142(2):148-58. doi: 10.1007/s12011-010-8766-2. Epub 2010 Jul 13.
Autism is a multi-factorial pathology observed in children with altered levels of essential and elevated levels of toxic elements. There are also studies reporting a decrease in nutritional trace elements in the hair and nail of autistic children with healthy controls; moreover, bioelements have been shown to play an important role in the central nervous system. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to assess the levels of trace elements like copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), magnesium (Mg), and selenium (Se) and toxic elements like mercury (Hg), and lead (Pb) in the hair and nail samples of autistic children and to evaluate whether the level of these elements could be correlated with the severity of autism. The subjects of the study were 45 autistic children with different grades of severity (low (LFA), medium (MFA), and high (HFA) functioning autism) according to Childhood Autism Rating Scale, n = 15 children in each group and 50 healthy children (age and sex matched). The boys and girls ratio involved in this study was 4:1, and they were 4-12 years of age. The study observed a valid indication of Cu body burden in the autistic children. The children with different grades of autism showed high significance (p < 0.001) in the level of copper in their hair and nail samples when compared to healthy controls. The level of Cu in the autistic children could be correlated with their degree of severity (more the Cu burden severe is autism). The study showed a significant elevation (p < 0.001) in the levels of toxic metals Pb and Hg in both hair and nail samples of autistic children when compared to healthy control group. The elevation was much pronounced in LFA group subjects when compared among autistic groups MFA and HFA. The levels of trace elements Mg and Se were significantly decreased (p < 0.001) in autistic children when compared to control. The trace element Zn showed significant variation in both hair and nails of LFA group children when compared to control group and other study groups. The significant elevation in the concentration of Cu, Pb, and Hg and significant decrease in the concentration of Mg and Se observed in the hair and nail samples of autistic subjects could be well correlated with their degrees of severity.
自闭症是一种多因素病理，见于体内必需元素水平改变和有毒元素水平升高的儿童。也有研究报告称，自闭症儿童的头发和指甲中的营养微量元素减少，而健康对照组则正常；此外，生物元素已被证明在中枢神经系统中发挥重要作用。因此，本研究的目的是评估自闭症儿童头发和指甲样本中微量元素（如铜（Cu）、锌（Zn）、镁（Mg）和硒（Se））和有毒元素（如汞（Hg）和铅（Pb）的水平，并评估这些元素的水平是否与自闭症的严重程度相关。研究对象为根据儿童自闭症评定量表评定的 45 名自闭症儿童，严重程度不同（低功能自闭症（LFA）、中功能自闭症（MFA）和高功能自闭症（HFA）），每组 15 名儿童，共 50 名健康儿童（年龄和性别匹配）。本研究中涉及的男女比例为 4:1，年龄为 4-12 岁。研究观察到自闭症儿童体内铜负荷的有效迹象。与健康对照组相比，不同严重程度自闭症儿童的头发和指甲样本中的铜水平具有高度显著性差异（p<0.001）。自闭症儿童的铜水平与其严重程度相关（铜负荷越重，自闭症越严重）。研究显示，与健康对照组相比，自闭症儿童的头发和指甲样本中有毒金属铅（Pb）和汞（Hg）水平显著升高（p<0.001）。在 MFA 和 HFA 自闭症组之间进行比较时，LFA 组受试者的升高更为明显。与对照组相比，自闭症儿童体内的微量元素镁（Mg）和硒（Se）水平显著降低（p<0.001）。与对照组和其他研究组相比，LFA 组儿童的头发和指甲中的微量元素锌（Zn）水平有显著差异。在自闭症患者头发和指甲样本中观察到的 Cu、Pb 和 Hg 浓度显著升高，Mg 和 Se 浓度显著降低，这与他们的严重程度密切相关。
