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   Study Finds Saliva Differences in Autistic Kids   
      
      
   Study Finds Saliva Differences in Autistic Kids   
   By RICK NAUERT PHD Senior News Editor   
   Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on February 17, 2015    ~ 1 min read   
   Study Finds Saliva Differences in Autistic Kids   
   New research suggests a spit test may help to diagnose autism in the future.   
      
   Researchers at Clarkson University and the State University of New York at   
   Plattsburgh have published the first study showing that children with autism   
   spectrum disorder have differences in protein levels in their saliva when   
   compared to typically    
   developing children.   
      
   The study was recently published in the journal Autism Research.   
      
   Autism spectrum disorder currently affects one in 68 children in the United   
   States. For unknown reasons, the number of people diagnosed with autism is on   
   the rise.   
      
   Currently, an autism diagnosis is determined from behavioral observations that   
   span several years as a biological test does not exist.   
      
   Development of a biological test could aid in earlier diagnosis, helping to   
   direct people with autism to interventions.   
      
   The researchers, led by Clarkson University doctoral candidate Armand Gatien   
   Ngounou Wetie, studied saliva from six children diagnosed with autism, ages   
   six to 16, compared to six typically developing children in the same age range.   
      
   They used a technique known as mass spectrometry to measure protein   
   differences in saliva taken from the two groups.   
      
   "We found nine proteins that were significantly elevated in the saliva of the   
   people with autism and three that were lower or even absent," said Alisa G.   
   Woods, Ph.D., a researcher at both Clarkson University and the SUNY   
   Plattsburgh Center for    
   Neurobehavioral Health who is one of the researchers leading the study.   
      
   "This is the first study to identify these changes in saliva, which is a   
   relatively easy biofluid to obtain for clinical use or research."   
      
   The proteins identified primarily have functions in immune system responses or   
   are elevated in people with gastrointestinal problems. The scientists also   
   reported that several of the identified proteins interact with one another.   
      
   "We are the first in the world who proposed a protein complex as a potential   
   biomarker signature, which gives us information not only about the proteins,   
   their relative quantities and their modifications, but also about their   
   interactions with other    
   proteins," said Costel C. Darie, a co-lead author and proteomics expert.   
      
   Although researchers believe the investigation is promising for the eventual   
   development of an autism diagnostic test, more subjects need to be studied to   
   confirm the markers are consistently different in people with autism.   
      
   "We have found some interesting proteins that are different from children with   
   autism compared with controls, and I think the next stage would be to increase   
   the pool of samples to confirm those findings," Ngounou said.   
      
   The group plans to further study these protein differences in larger groups of   
   children with autism and also in specific subtypes of autism.   
      
   Source: Clarkson University   
      
   http://psychcentral.com/news/2015/02/17/saliva-test-may-diagnose   
   autism/81351.html   
      
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