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Reduced levels of plasma polyunsaturated fatty acids and serum carnitine in autistic children: relation to gastrointestinal manifestations

BACKGROUND: Gastrointestinal (GI) manifestations are common in autistic children. Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and carnitine are anti-inflammatory molecules and their deficiency may result in GI inflammation. The relationship between the increased frequency of GI manifestations and reduced le...

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Autores principales: Mostafa, Gehan A, AL-Ayadhi, Laila Y
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: BioMed Central 2015
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4332725/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25757041
http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12993-014-0048-2
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author Mostafa, Gehan A
AL-Ayadhi, Laila Y
author_facet Mostafa, Gehan A
AL-Ayadhi, Laila Y
author_sort Mostafa, Gehan A
collection PubMed
description BACKGROUND: Gastrointestinal (GI) manifestations are common in autistic children. Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and carnitine are anti-inflammatory molecules and their deficiency may result in GI inflammation. The relationship between the increased frequency of GI manifestations and reduced levels of PUFAs and carnitine was not previously investigated in autistic patients. This study was the first to investigate plasma levels of PUFAs and serum carnitine in relation to GI manifestations in autistic children. METHODS: Plasma levels of PUFAs (including linoleic, alphalinolenic, arachidonic “AA” and docosahexaenoic “DHA” acids) and serum carnitine were measured in 100 autistic children and 100 healthy-matched children. RESULTS: Reduced levels of serum carnitine and plasma DHA, AA, linolenic and linoleic acids were found in 66%, 62%, 60%, 43% and 38%, respectively of autistic children. On the other hand, 54% of autistic patients had elevated ω6/ω3 ratio. Autistic patients with GI manifestations (48%) had significantly decreased levels of serum carnitine and plasma DHA than patients without such manifestations. In addition, autistic patients with GI manifestations had significantly increased percentage of reduced serum carnitine (91.7%) and plasma DHA levels (87.5%) than patients without such manifestations (42.3% and 38.5%, respectively), (P < 0.001 and P < 0.001%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Reduced levels of plasma DHA and serum carnitine levels may be associated with the GI problems in some autistic patients. However, this is an initial report, studies are recommended to invesigate whether reduced levels of carnitine and DHA are a mere association or have a pathogenic role in GI problems in autistic patients.
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spelling pubmed-43327252015-02-20 Reduced levels of plasma polyunsaturated fatty acids and serum carnitine in autistic children: relation to gastrointestinal manifestations Mostafa, Gehan A AL-Ayadhi, Laila Y Behav Brain Funct Research BACKGROUND: Gastrointestinal (GI) manifestations are common in autistic children. Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and carnitine are anti-inflammatory molecules and their deficiency may result in GI inflammation. The relationship between the increased frequency of GI manifestations and reduced levels of PUFAs and carnitine was not previously investigated in autistic patients. This study was the first to investigate plasma levels of PUFAs and serum carnitine in relation to GI manifestations in autistic children. METHODS: Plasma levels of PUFAs (including linoleic, alphalinolenic, arachidonic “AA” and docosahexaenoic “DHA” acids) and serum carnitine were measured in 100 autistic children and 100 healthy-matched children. RESULTS: Reduced levels of serum carnitine and plasma DHA, AA, linolenic and linoleic acids were found in 66%, 62%, 60%, 43% and 38%, respectively of autistic children. On the other hand, 54% of autistic patients had elevated ω6/ω3 ratio. Autistic patients with GI manifestations (48%) had significantly decreased levels of serum carnitine and plasma DHA than patients without such manifestations. In addition, autistic patients with GI manifestations had significantly increased percentage of reduced serum carnitine (91.7%) and plasma DHA levels (87.5%) than patients without such manifestations (42.3% and 38.5%, respectively), (P < 0.001 and P < 0.001%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Reduced levels of plasma DHA and serum carnitine levels may be associated with the GI problems in some autistic patients. However, this is an initial report, studies are recommended to invesigate whether reduced levels of carnitine and DHA are a mere association or have a pathogenic role in GI problems in autistic patients. BioMed Central 2015-02-07 /pmc/articles/PMC4332725/ /pubmed/25757041 http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12993-014-0048-2 Text en © Mostafa and Al-Ayadhi; licensee BioMed Central. 2015 This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.
spellingShingle Research
Mostafa, Gehan A
AL-Ayadhi, Laila Y
Reduced levels of plasma polyunsaturated fatty acids and serum carnitine in autistic children: relation to gastrointestinal manifestations
title Reduced levels of plasma polyunsaturated fatty acids and serum carnitine in autistic children: relation to gastrointestinal manifestations
title_full Reduced levels of plasma polyunsaturated fatty acids and serum carnitine in autistic children: relation to gastrointestinal manifestations
title_fullStr Reduced levels of plasma polyunsaturated fatty acids and serum carnitine in autistic children: relation to gastrointestinal manifestations
title_full_unstemmed Reduced levels of plasma polyunsaturated fatty acids and serum carnitine in autistic children: relation to gastrointestinal manifestations
title_short Reduced levels of plasma polyunsaturated fatty acids and serum carnitine in autistic children: relation to gastrointestinal manifestations
title_sort reduced levels of plasma polyunsaturated fatty acids and serum carnitine in autistic children: relation to gastrointestinal manifestations
topic Research
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4332725/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25757041
http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12993-014-0048-2
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