This study aimed to determine discrepancies in the urinary glycosaminoglycan profiles of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) patients (n=9) when compared with those from healthy volunteers (HVs, n=3). The guardians and/or educators for each participant also returned a validated Autism Behavior Checklist (ABC). The urinary chondroitin sulfate (CS) concentration was 46.1% lower in the ASD group than in the HV group. The ABC score and the urinary CS concentration were negatively correlated (Spearman's coefficient of -0.2635), indicating that as the severity of the clinical aspect of this disorder increased, the urinary CS concentration decreased. These results suggest that low CS concentrations in the urine may be associated with ASD, and could be measured using a fast and low-cost method for diagnostics.
Autism spectrum disorder is a group of developmental disorders whose clinical characteristics include socialization impairment, language disability, and unusual behavior. This review aimed to analyze how the Brazilian community researches autism, seeking answers surrounding its treatment, etiology, and diagnosis. The search for publications was based in Elsevier's Scopus Database in June 2019 and was focused on the study of autism in Brazil or with Brazilian data. We categorized publications on diagnosis, treatment, and etiology. The majority of the publications found after inclusion/exclusion criteria sought to validate and adapt pre-existing scales to the Brazilian Portuguese. Instead, the groups performing these studies have had little background in the biochemical, genetic, or environmental aspects of the disease in the country.
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