Effects of Diagnosis, Race, and Puberty on Platelet Serotonin Levels in Autism and Mental Retardation
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OBJECTIVE: To reevaluate platelet serotonin (5-HT) levels in autism, measuring and controlling for effects of race and puberty. The specificity of hyperserotonemia for autism versus cognitive impairment is also assessed. METHOD: Platelet 5-HT levels were measured in 77 individuals, aged 2 through 37 years, with autistic disorder; 65 normal controls; and 22 mentally retarded or otherwise cognitively impaired (MR/CI) prepubertal children. Effects of diagnosis, race, and pubertal status were evaluated by analysis of variance in separate pre- and postpubertal groups. 5-HT levels were expressed as ng/mL blood and ng/microL platelet volume. RESULTS: Among prepubertal children, significant effects of diagnosis (ng/mL; F2,109 = 5.9, p = .004) and race (F2,109 = 14.7, p < .0005) were found. Autistic youngsters had significantly higher 5-HT concentrations than controls, although the elevation (25%) was less than typically reported; MR/CI children had levels very similar to those of controls. White children had significantly lower 5-HT levels than black or Latino youngsters, regardless of diagnosis. Diagnosis and race effects were nonsignificant in the postpubertal group. Postpubertal subjects had lower 5-HT concentrations than prepubertal subjects (ng/mL; F1,114 = 28.5, p < .0005). CONCLUSIONS: The data underscore the importance of matching for race and pubertal status in neuropsychiatric research and suggest that the prevalence of hyperserotonemia in autistic individuals may have been overestimated because of a failure to control for both variables. Hyperserotonemia was not found in MR/CI youngsters without autistic features.
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23% of participants had 5-HT levels two standard deviations above the mean for their race and pubertal status.
“Comparing to published norms (McBride et al. 1998), 23 % of the participants had 5-HT levels two standard deviations above the mean for their race and pubertal status.”
From Brief Report: Whole Blood Serotonin Levels and Gastrointestinal Symptoms in Autism Spectrum Disorder (2016) · cites this paper as McBride et al. 1998
Clinical correlates between hyperserotonemia and ASD-associated behaviors (e.g., stereotypy and self-injury) have been inconsistent.
“the clinical correlates between hyperserotonemia and ASD-associated behaviors (e.g., stereotypy and self-injury) have been inconsistent [36, 45–47].”
From Serotonin as a link between the gut-brain-microbiome axis in autism spectrum disorders (2018) · cites this paper as [45]
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- Authors
- MCBRIDE, P. A., ANDERSON, G. M., HERTZIG, M. E., SNOW, M. E., THOMPSON, S. M., KHAIT, V. D., SHAPIRO, T., & COHEN, D. J.
- Affiliations
- Cornell University (US)
- Yale University (US)
- Venue
- Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 1998-07
- Volume
- 37
- Issue
- 7
- Pages
- 767-776
- ISSN
- 0890-8567 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W1989064214
- Cited by
- 141
- References
- 44
- Citations by year
- 2025: 2 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 7 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 5 · 2016: 1 · 2015: 4 · 2014: 9 · 2013: 10 · 2012: 5
- FWCI
- 3.40
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- NIMH (MH44177, MH30929)
- Cornell Children's Clinical Research Center (RR06020)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Autism Spectrum Disorder Research
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Genetics and Neurodevelopmental Disorders
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
- Keywords
- platelet serotonin, hyperserotonemia, autism spectrum disorder, intellectual disability, race, puberty, prepubertal children, diagnostic specificity
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Autistic Disorder, Blood Platelets, Child, Child, Preschool, Female, Humans, Male, Intellectual Disability, Puberty, Serotonin, Biomarkers, Racial Groups
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