Department of Biochemistry, Bharathi Women's College, North Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.
Redox Rep. 2011;16(5):216-22. doi: 10.1179/1351000211Y.0000000012.
Oxidative stress caused by increased production of free radicals and impaired functions of antioxidants remains as the major factor associated with the pathophysiology of many neuropsychiatric diseases.
The objective of the present study was to analyze the oxidative stress markers in urine sample since the collection of blood from these children is highly meticulous and also to evaluate whether these urinary markers can be correlated with the severity of autism.
The subjects of the study were 45 autistic children with different grades of severity (low functioning autism (LFA), medium functioning autism (MFA), and high functioning autism (HFA) according to Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS), 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 of age 4-12 years. We determined the urinary levels of oxidative stress markers like thiobarbituric acid-reacting substances, lipid hydroperoxides, 4-hydroxy nonenal, protein carbonyls, sulfhydryl groups, total antioxidant capacity, total peroxide content, oxidative stress index, and also UA/Cr ratio in autistic children.
The study observed a significant elevation in the level of oxidative stress markers in autistic children when compared with normal children. The level of antioxidants excreted in urine was found to be significantly low in autistic children. These findings when correlated with the degrees of severity, oxidative stress markers showed positive correlation with increasing order of severity (LFA>MFA>HFA), whereas antioxidants showed negative correlation.
The study reveals that the urinary levels of oxidative stress markers can be considered as the measure of oxidative stress index in autistic children. The significant correlation between the severity of autism with urinary lipid peroxidation products also support the use of oxidative stress markers and antioxidants as biomarkers of autism.
氧化应激是由自由基产生增加和抗氧化剂功能受损引起的，仍然是许多神经精神疾病病理生理学的主要因素。
本研究的目的是分析尿液样本中的氧化应激标志物，因为从这些儿童身上采集血液需要非常小心，同时评估这些尿液标志物是否与自闭症的严重程度相关。
研究对象为 45 名自闭症儿童，根据儿童自闭症评定量表（CARS）分为不同严重程度（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）。本研究涉及的男女比例为 4:1，年龄为 4-12 岁。我们测定了尿液中氧化应激标志物的水平，如硫代巴比妥酸反应物质、脂质过氧化物、4-羟基壬烯醛、蛋白羰基、巯基、总抗氧化能力、总过氧化物含量、氧化应激指数以及自闭症儿童的 UA/Cr 比值。
与正常儿童相比，自闭症儿童的氧化应激标志物水平显著升高。自闭症儿童尿液中抗氧化剂的排泄水平明显较低。这些发现与严重程度相关，氧化应激标志物与严重程度呈正相关（LFA>MFA>HFA），而抗氧化剂则呈负相关。
研究表明，尿液中氧化应激标志物的水平可以作为自闭症儿童氧化应激指数的衡量标准。自闭症严重程度与尿液脂质过氧化产物之间的显著相关性也支持将氧化应激标志物和抗氧化剂作为自闭症的生物标志物。
