Saliva Test for Autism in the Works

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autism-in-the-works

Saliva Test for Autism in the Works

Certain Saliva Compounds Are Different in Some Autistic Children,

Italian Scientists Report

By Miranda Hitti

WebMD Health NewsReviewed by Louise Chang, MDJan. 8, 2009 -- Certain

compounds in saliva are different in some children with autism

spectrum disorders, a new study shows.

Italian researchers analyzed saliva samples from 27 children with

autism spectrum disorders and 23 healthy children of the same age.

The scientists, who included Professor Massimo Castagnola of Rome's

Universita Cattolica, focused on small proteins and peptides, which

are building blocks of protein, in the saliva samples.

Two-thirds of the children in the autism spectrum disorders group had

at least one salivary peptide that differed from children without

autism.

It's not clear if autism was the reason for those differences or why

those differences weren't seen in all of the autistic children.

Still, analyzing those peptides might help to identify " a

considerable subgroup " of people with autism spectrum disorders, and

the peptide differences might trace back to the central nervous

system, write Castagnola and colleagues.

The researchers note that their saliva test isn't ready for

widespread use. First, it needs to be tested in larger groups of

people and more needs to be learned about the connection between the

peptides and autism.

The study appears in the Journal of Proteome Research.