A team of researchers from the Butantan Institute in Brazil has identified a number of proteins and amino acids that could make it easier to diagnose autism from urine samples.
“Just because autism wasn’t talked about as much in the past as it is today doesn’t mean it didn’t exist. The disorder has always existed, but as technology has advanced, it has been discovered earlier and earlier. the research complements forms of diagnosis and clinical monitoring,” explained Butantan researcher Ivo Lebrun.
Potential biomarkers could “help develop additional methods for diagnosing and monitoring the progression of the condition” for people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), a scientific organization said today.
The results of the study were published in the latest issue of the scientific journal Biomarkers Journal, dedicated to the celebration of World Autism Awareness Day.
Brazilian researchers have found differences in the concentrations of proteins and amino acids in urine samples from people with autism and people without autism, according to a research center affiliated with the government of the Brazilian state of Sao Paulo.
Study coordinator Nadia Isaac da Silva compared urine samples from 22 children aged 3 to 10 years diagnosed with ASD with urine samples from children without the disorder.
The study found changes in the amounts of certain proteins and amino acids, such as glycine, leucine, aspartic acid and tyrosine, in samples from children with the disorder.
“Abnormal levels of proteins and amino acids may be associated with several features observed in people with ASD,” the Butantan Institute said in a statement.
Given the difficulty of diagnosing and treating autism, several approaches to the disorder have been developed, including the creation of databases of blood samples and genetic sequences, according to the agency.
These studies aim, among other things, to identify new genes associated with autism and biomarkers that characterize autism.
However, detecting possible biomarkers in urine could make diagnosis easier since samples can be collected at home by parents or caregivers of people with autism, the Butantan Institute stressed.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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