Autism Linked to Testosterone?

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The Kid's Doctor

Autism Linked to Testosterone?

Kid's Doctor

Posted on October 29, 2010 at 11:01 AM

I just read an interesting article by Dr. Barton–Cohen who is a professor of

developmental psychology and the director of the Autism Research Centre at the

University of Cambridge, England. He is the principle architect of a theory

which suggests that autism is linked to in utero exposure of the fetus to very

high levels of testosterone. This interesting hypothesis is that these very high

levels of in utero testosterone can lead to extreme masculinization of the brain

and the mind of the newborn. In Dr. Barton-Cohen’s words, “autism can be thought

of as a case of extreme male brain”. This seemed fascinating to me, so I

continued to read on.

According to Dr. Barton-Cohen, the hormone testosterone and the genes that

regulate testosterone during fetal development may be part of the link to the

cause of autism. Although it is known that autism is likely due to complex and

multifactorial issues, Dr. Barton-Cohen has found that fetal testosterone levels

are typically twice as high in males as in females, and testosterone levels may

vary up to 20 times in male fetuses.

Given that the prevalence of autism spectrum conditions is about 1% in the

general population, and that classic autism has a male: female ratio of 4:1, and

Asperger’s syndrome is 9:1, the increased testosterone levels may be

significant.

Dr. Barton-Cohen has been conducting an ongoing study looking at 235 developing

children whose fetal testosterone levels were known from maternal amniocentesis.

He has followed them for 8 years and had parents rate their children for

autistic traits. He found that the number of autistic traits a child displayed

correlated with their fetal testosterone level, regardless of their sex.

He also reported that earlier studies done on these children at 12 months of

age, showed that those babies with higher testosterone levels were less likely

to make eye contact with the mothers, and at age 2 these children had more

limited vocabulary and language development than did those infants with lower

fetal testosterone levels.

So, many of the hallmarks of autistic spectrum disorders include social and

communication difficulties, narrow interests, and extreme need for routine. Many

would view these characteristics as being extreme “male” interests and

behaviors. Does this in any way relate to those higher fetal testosterone

levels? Are these gender differences due to cultural and social influences?

These are very interesting questions and will need even more study.

Dr. Barton–Cohen and other investigators will need to continue to research this

very important, yet preliminary hypothesis, to see if they continue to find a

correlation between fetal testosterone levels and autistic symptoms. Any

information that brings us closer to solving the puzzle of autism is very

exciting. I look forward to reading further data as it becomes available.

That’s your daily dose for today. We’ll chat again tomorrow.

Send your question or comment to Dr. Sue!