Department of Psychiatry, Research Laboratory "Vulnerability to Psychotic Disorders LR 05 ES 10", Monastir University Hospital, Monastir, Tunisia.
Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Monastir, Monastir, Tunisia.
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2020 Oct;27(28):35738-35749. doi: 10.1007/s11356-020-09819-5. Epub 2020 Jun 29.
Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are a group of neurodevelopmental disorders defined by a deficit in social interactions and the presence of restricted and stereotypical behaviors or interests. The etiologies of autism remain mostly unknown. Many genetic and environmental factors have been suspected. Among these environmental factors, exposure to several chemical elements has been previously studied. The purpose of this study was to compare the levels of trace elements in the blood plasma of children with ASD with typically developed children (TDC). The participants in this study consisted of 89 children with ASD (14 girls and 74 boys) and 70 TD children (29 girls and 41 boys). The levels of 33 chemical elements have been analyzed by inductively coupled plasma spectrometry (ICP-MS). We detected significant differences in the levels of eight elements between the two groups, among which there were three rare earth elements (REEs): Eu, Pr, and Sc (p = 0.000, p = 0.023, and p < 0.001 respectively); four heavy metals: Bi, Tl, Ti, and V (p = 0.004, p < 0.001, p = 0.001, and p = 0.001 respectively); and one essential element: Cu (p = 0.043). Children with ASD had higher levels of Er, Pr, Sc, Bi, Tl, Ti, and V, and lower levels of Cu in comparison with the TD group. The children exposed to passive smoking had lower levels of lead (Pb) compared with children without exposure (p = 0.018). Four elements (Cr, Er, Dy, and Pr) were negatively correlated to the severity of ASD. The level of Cu was significantly associated with autistic children's behavior (p = 0.014). These results suggest that children with ASD might have abnormal plasma levels of certain chemical elements (including Er, Pr, Sc, Bi, Tl, Ti, and V, and Cu), and some of these elements might be associated with certain clinical features.
自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）是一组神经发育障碍，其特征是社交互动缺陷以及存在受限和刻板的行为或兴趣。自闭症的病因仍大多未知。许多遗传和环境因素都受到怀疑。在这些环境因素中，先前已经研究了接触几种化学元素。本研究的目的是比较自闭症儿童（ASD）与典型发育儿童（TDC）的血浆中微量元素的水平。本研究的参与者包括 89 名 ASD 儿童（14 名女孩和 74 名男孩）和 70 名 TDC 儿童（29 名女孩和 41 名男孩）。通过电感耦合等离子体质谱法（ICP-MS）分析了 33 种化学元素的水平。我们检测到两组之间有八种元素的水平存在显著差异，其中有三种稀土元素（REEs）：Eu、Pr 和 Sc（p=0.000、p=0.023 和 p<0.001）；四种重金属：Bi、Tl、Ti 和 V（p=0.004、p<0.001、p=0.001 和 p=0.001）；以及一种必需元素：Cu（p=0.043）。与 TDC 组相比，自闭症儿童的 Er、Pr、Sc、Bi、Tl、Ti 和 V 水平更高，Cu 水平更低。与未接触过被动吸烟的儿童相比，接触过被动吸烟的儿童体内的铅（Pb）水平更低（p=0.018）。有四个元素（Cr、Er、Dy 和 Pr）与 ASD 的严重程度呈负相关。Cu 水平与自闭症儿童的行为显著相关（p=0.014）。这些结果表明，自闭症儿童可能具有某些化学元素（包括 Er、Pr、Sc、Bi、Tl、Ti 和 V 以及 Cu）的异常血浆水平，并且其中一些元素可能与某些临床特征有关。
