Autism and immunity: Reuters Health article

April 11, 2001

Aberrant Immune Response Seen in Autism WESTPORT, CT (Reuters Health) Apr 04

- Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) produce higher levels of

pro-inflammatory cytokines than children without autism, researchers

announced Monday at the Experimental Biology 2001 meeting in Orlando,

Florida. Dr. Harumi Jyonouchi of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis

and colleagues analyzed the immune responses of 83 children with ASD, between

2 and 17 years old, compared with a group of healthy matched controls. The

researchers measured the levels of TNF-alpha, IL-4, IL-5 and IL-10 in the

subjects before and after exposure to low doses of endotoxin. " More than

three-quarters of the ASD children produced higher levels of at least one of

the pro-inflammatory cytokines compared with controls, " Dr. Jyonouchi told

Reuters Health. These differences were evident both with and without

endotoxin exposure, she added. The researchers also found that " 75% to 80% of

these children have T-cell reactivity to dietary proteins including soy,

milk, and wheat, " Dr. Jyonouchi said. " If their response to endotoxins is

dysregulated, children with ASD may be predisposed to other adverse reactions

to foods, bacteria, and vaccines, and may have an increased risk for

autoimmune reactions, " Dr. Jyonouchi explained. She noted that these children

may also require a longer time to recover from such exposures. " This is

scientific data supporting parents' claims that autistic children may get

sicker from colds and flu and are more sensitive to dietary proteins, " Dr.

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