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Abstract #2938

MR Spectroscopy Suggests Hyperexcitability, Neuronal Injury, Inflammation and a Physiological Imbalance of Bioenergetics in White Matter of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Eva-Maria Ratai 1,2 , Nandita Shetty 3 , Shantanu Ghosh 2,3 , Mohamad Alshikho 2,3 , Avi Ringer 3 , Katherine Martien 2,4 , David Holtzman 2,5 , and Martha Herbert 2,3

1 Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, A. A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Charlestown, MA, United States, 2 Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States, 3 Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, A. A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Charlestown, MA, United States, 4 Department of Pediatrics, Massachusetts General Hospital, MA, United States, 5 Pediatric Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, A. A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Charlestown, MA, United States

The objective of this study was to investigate biomarkers related to neuronal hyperexcitation, excitotoxic injury, and inflammation in white matter of boys with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and typically developing (TD) age-matched controls, 17 ASD and 30 TD subjects, using MRS. Glutamate+Glutamine/N-Acetylaspartate (Glx/NAA) ratio decreased with age in TD children but not in ASD. Myo-Inositol (mI) significantly increased with age only in ASD, consistent with increased inflammation but not in TD. The failure of Glx/NAA to decrease with age may contribute to the substantial seizure risk seen in ASD children as they enter puberty.

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