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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