Abstract
Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by a pattern of social and communication deficits. Although it occurs in all cultures and countries, most of the published research has come from Western industrialized countries. In particular, relatively little is known about its clinical correlates and comorbidity in African and Middle Eastern countries. In this paper, we report two cases of G6PD deficiency with autism, recruited as part of a larger study on the occurrence of autism in Saudi Arabia. These findings suggest that a different set of medical conditions may be associated with autism in developing countries.
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Acknowledgments
The authors express their thanks to the NARSAD Foundation and to the staff and patients of KFMC, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. They also acknowledge the assistance of Elham H. Al-Hifthy, M.D.
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Saleh M. Al-Salehi, M.D., is a developmental pediatrician at King Fahd Medical City Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Mohammad Ghaziuddin, M.D., is on the faculty of child psychiatry at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA.
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Al-Salehi, S.M., Ghaziuddin, M. G6PD deficiency in autism. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry 18, 227–230 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-008-0721-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-008-0721-9