1H-magnetic resonance spectroscopy markers of cognitive and language ability in clinical subtypes of autism spectrum disorders

• Published in: Journal of child neurology Vol. 23; no. 7; p. 766
• Main Authors: Gabis, Lidia, Wei Huang, Azizian, Allen, DeVincent, Carla, Tudorica, Alina, Kesner-Baruch, Yael, Roche, Patricia, Pomeroy, John
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01.07.2008
• Subjects: Adolescent; Amygdala - metabolism; Analysis of Variance; Aspartic Acid - analogs & derivatives; Aspartic Acid - metabolism; Asperger Syndrome - diagnosis; Asperger Syndrome - metabolism; Autistic Disorder - diagnosis; Autistic Disorder - metabolism; Biomarkers - metabolism; Brain - metabolism; Brain Mapping; Case-Control Studies; Cerebellum - metabolism; Child; Child Development Disorders, Pervasive - classification; Child Development Disorders, Pervasive - diagnosis; Child Development Disorders, Pervasive - metabolism; Choline - metabolism; Cognition - physiology; Creatine - metabolism; Female; Functional Laterality - physiology; Hippocampus - metabolism; Humans; Inositol - metabolism; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; Male; Protons; Reference Values; Sensitivity and Specificity; Statistics, Nonparametric
• ISSN: 1708-8283
• DOI: 10.1177/0883073808315423

This study assessed metabolic functioning of regional brain areas to address whether there is a neurometabolic profile reflecting the underlying neuropathology in individuals with autism spectrum disorders, and if varied profiles correlate with the clinical subtypes. Thirteen children (7-16 years) with autism spectrum disorders and 8 typically developing children were compared on (1)H-magnetic resonance spectroscopy data collected from hippocampus-amygdala and cerebellar regions. The autism spectrum disorder group had significantly lower N-acetyl-aspartate/creatine ratios bilaterally in the hippocampus-amygdala but not cerebellum, whereas myo-inositol/creatine was significantly increased in all measured regions. Choline/creatine was also significantly elevated in the left hippocampus-amygdala and cerebellar regions of children with autism spectrum disorder. Comparisons within the autism spectrum disorder group when clinically subdivided by history of speech delay revealed significant metabolic ratio differences. Magnetic resonance spectroscopy can provide important information regarding abnormal brain metabolism and clinical classification in autism spectrum disorders.