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Increased Markers of Oxidative Stress in Autistic Children of the Sultanate of Oman

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Abstract

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder of early childhood, and an enumeration about its etiology and consequences is still limited. Oxidative stress-induced mechanisms are believed to be the major cause for ASD. In this study 19 autistic and 19 age-matched normal Omani children were recruited to analyze their degree of redox status and a prewritten consent was obtained. Blood was withdrawn from subjects in heparin-coated tube, and plasma was separated. Plasma oxidative stress indicators such as nitric oxide (NO), malondialdehyde (MDA), protein carbonyl, and lactate to pyruvate ratio were quantified using commercially available kits. A significant elevation was observed in the levels of NO, MDA, protein carbonyl, and lactate to pyruvate ratio in the plasma of Omani autistic children as compared to their age-matched controls. These oxidative stress markers are strongly associated with major cellular injury and manifest severe mitochondrial dysfunction in autistic pathology. Our results also suggest that oxidative stress might be involved in the pathogenesis of ASD, and these parameters could be considered as diagnostic markers to ensure the prevalence of ASD in Omani children. However, the oxidative stress-induced molecular mechanisms in ASD should be studied in detail.

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Acknowledgment

The project was supported by Sultan Qaboos University; Oman in the form of internal grant is gratefully acknowledged (IG/AGR/FOOD/11/02).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Food Science and Nutrition, College of Agriculture and Marine Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, PO No. 34, Al-Khoud, Muscat, Postal Code 123, Sultanate of Oman

    Musthafa M. Essa, Mostafa I. Waly, Faruck L. Hakkim & Amanat Ali

  2. Department of Pharmacology, Neuropharmacology Group, College of Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia

    Musthafa M. Essa & Gilles J. Guillemin

  3. Developmental Neuroscience Lab, NYSIBR, 1050 Forest Hill Road, Staten Island, NY, 10314, USA

    Musthafa M. Essa

  4. College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman

    Marwan M. Al-Sharbati, Yahya M. Al-Farsi & Mohammed S. Al-Shafaee

Authors
  1. Musthafa M. Essa
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  2. Gilles J. Guillemin
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  3. Mostafa I. Waly
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  4. Marwan M. Al-Sharbati
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  5. Yahya M. Al-Farsi
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  6. Faruck L. Hakkim
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  7. Amanat Ali
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  8. Mohammed S. Al-Shafaee
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Correspondence to Musthafa M. Essa.

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Essa, M.M., Guillemin, G.J., Waly, M.I. et al. Increased Markers of Oxidative Stress in Autistic Children of the Sultanate of Oman. Biol Trace Elem Res 147, 25–27 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-011-9280-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-011-9280-x

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