Defeat Autism Now

Evidence-Based Autism Resources

Advances In Research
The resources below provide information about recent biomedical research related to autism spectrum disorders.

Biomarkers

Research Studies:
Frye, R. E., Vassall, S., Kaur, G., Lewis, C., Karim, M., & Rossignol, D. A. (2019). Emerging biomarkers in autism spectrum disorder: A systematic review. Psychiatry Research, 274, 42–51.

Jensen, A. R., Lane, A. L., Werner, B. A., McLees, S. E., Fletcher, T. S., & Frye, R. E. (2022). Modern biomarkers for autism spectrum disorder: Future directions. Molecular Diagnosis & Therapy, 26(5), 483–495.

Wang, S., Jiang, M., & Liu, X. (2023). Eye-tracking biomarkers and autism diagnosis in primary care. JAMA Network Open, 6(1), e2818669.

Scherer, S. W., & Dawson, G. (2015). Identification and validation of biomarkers for autism spectrum disorder. Nature Reviews Drug Discovery, 14(9), 591–602.

Loth, E (2023). Does the current state of biomarker discovery in autism reflect the promise of precision medicine? Frontiers in Psychiatry, 14, 1085445.

Biomedical Intervention

Research Studies:
Alibek, K., Farmer, S., Tskhay, A., Moldakozhayev, A., & Isakov, T. (2019). Targeted biomedical treatment for autism spectrum disorders. Current Medicinal Chemistry, 26(32), 5864–5875.

Ghanizadeh, A. (2015). Pharmacological treatment in autism: A proposal for guidelines on pharmacological agents used in autism spectrum disorder. BMC Medicine, 13(1).
BIOMED CENTRAL

Waddington, H., van der Meer, L., & Sigafoos, J. (2016). Effectiveness of the Early Start Denver Model: A systematic review. Review Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 3(1), 1–14.

Detoxification

Research Studies:
Rossignol, D. A., & Frye, R. E. (2014). A review of research trends in physiological abnormalities in autism spectrum disorders: Immune dysregulation, inflammation, oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, and environmental toxicant exposures. Molecular Psychiatry, 17(4), 389–401. https://doi.org/10.1038/mp.2011.165

Adams, J. B., Audhya, T., McDonough-Means, S., Rubin, R. A., Quig, D., Geis, E., ... & Lee, W. (2011). Nutritional and metabolic status of children with autism vs. neurotypical children, and the association with autism severity. Nutrition & Metabolism, 8(1), 34. https://doi.org/10.1186/1743-7075-8-34

Bjørklund, G., & Chirumbolo, S. (2013). Role of oxidative stress and antioxidants in daily nutrition and human health. Nutrition, 29(1), 6–7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nut.2012.07.007

Environment

Research Studies:
Kalkbrenner, A. E., Daniels, J. L., Chen, J. C., Poole, C., Emch, M., & Morrissey, J. (2010). Perinatal exposure to hazardous air pollutants and autism spectrum disorders at age 8. Epidemiology, 21(5), 631–641.

Lyall, K., Schmidt, R. J., & Hertz-Picciotto, I. (2014). Maternal lifestyle and environmental risk factors for autism spectrum disorders. International Journal of Epidemiology, 43(2), 443–464.

Rossignol, D. A., & Frye, R. E. (2012). Environmental toxicants and autism spectrum disorders: A systematic review. Translational Psychiatry, 2(7), e126.

Grandjean, P., & Landrigan, P. J. (2014). Neurobehavioural effects of developmental toxicity. The Lancet Neurology, 13(3), 330–338.

Gastrointestinal System

Research Studies:
Lefter, R., Ciobica, A., Timofte, D., Stanciu, C., & Trutescu, R. (2019). A descriptive review on the prevalence of gastrointestinal disorders and the role of microbiome in the pathophysiology of autism spectrum disorders. Medicina, 56(1), 11. https://doi.org/10.3390/medicina56010011 ​

Settanni, C. R., Bibbò, S., & Ianiro, G. (2021). Gut microbiota alteration and modulation in autism spectrum disorders: Evidence-based intervention approaches. Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology, 55(9), 733–740.

Kushak, R. I., Winter, H. S., & Buie, T. M. (2022). Gastrointestinal symptoms and intestinal inflammation in children with autism spectrum disorders. Digestive Diseases and Sciences, 67(4), 1236–1243.

Holingue, C., Newill, C., Lee, L. C., Pasricha, P. J., & Daniele Fallin, M. (2018). Gastrointestinal symptoms in autism spectrum disorder: A review of the literature on ascertainment and prevalence. Autism Research, 11(1), 24–36.

Fattorusso, A., Di Genova, L., Dell'Isola, G. B., Mencaroni, E., & Esposito, S. (2019). Autism spectrum disorders and the gut microbiota. Nutrients, 11(3), 521.

Genetics

Research Studies:
Sanders, S. J., He, X., Willsey, A. J., Ercan-Sencicek, A. G., Samocha, K. E., Cicek, A. E., ... & State, M. W. (2015). Insights into autism spectrum disorder genomic architecture and biology from 71 risk loci. Neuron, 87(6), 1215–1233.

Satterstrom, F. K., Kosmicki, J. A., Wang, J., Breen, M. S., De Rubeis, S., An, J. Y., ... & Daly, M. J. (2020). Large-scale exome sequencing study implicates both developmental and functional changes in the neurobiology of autism. Cell, 180(3), 568–584.e23.

Grove, J., Ripke, S., Als, T. D., Mattheisen, M., Walters, R. K., Won, H., ... & Børglum, A. D. (2019). Identification of common genetic risk variants for autism spectrum disorder. Nature Genetics, 51(3), 431–444.

Ruzzo, E. K., Pérez-Cano, L., Jung, J. Y., Wang, L. K., Kashef-Haghighi, D., Hartl, C., ... & Geschwind, D. H. (2019). Inherited and de novo genetic risk for autism impacts shared networks. Cell, 178(4), 850–866.e26.

Zhou, J., Park, C. Y., Theesfeld, C. L., Wong, A. K., Yuan, Y., Scheckel, C., ... & Troyanskaya, O. G. (2019). Whole-genome deep-learning analysis identifies contribution of noncoding mutations to autism risk. Nature Genetics, 51(6), 973–980.

Immune System

Research Studies:
Goines, P., & Ashwood, P. (2013). Cytokine dysregulation in autism spectrum disorders (ASD): Possible role of the environment. Neurotoxicity Research, 23(1), 151–161. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12640-012-9331-7​

Estes, M. L., & McAllister, A. K. (2015). Immune mediators in the brain and peripheral tissues in autism spectrum disorder. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 16(8), 469–486.

Meltzer, A., & Van de Water, J. (2017). The role of the immune system in autism spectrum disorder. Neuropsychopharmacology, 42(1), 284–298.

Gottfried, C., Bambini-Junior, V., Francis, F., Riesgo, R., & Savino, W. (2015). The impact of neuroimmune alterations in autism spectrum disorder. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 6, 121.

Onore, C., Careaga, M., & Ashwood, P. (2012). The role of immune dysfunction in the pathophysiology of autism. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 26(3), 383–392.

Metabolism

Research Studies:
Emond, P., Mavel, S., Aïdoud, N., Nadal-Desbarats, L., Montigny, F., Bonnet-Brilhault, F., & Andres, C. R. (2019). Metabolomic signatures of autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 49(1), 5–22.

Frye, R. E., Slattery, J., Delhey, L., Furgerson, B., Strickland, T., Tippett, M., ... & James, S. J. (2017). Folate metabolism abnormalities in autism: Potential biomarkers. Biomarkers in Medicine, 11(8), 687–699.

Zheng, Z., Zhang, L., Li, S., Zhao, F., Wang, Y., Huang, L., ... & Zou, X. (2016). Association among obesity, overweight and autism spectrum disorder: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Scientific Reports, 6, 28493.

Yap, I. K. S., Angley, M., Veselkov, K. A., Holmes, E., Lindon, J. C., & Nicholson, J. K. (2010). Urinary metabolic phenotyping differentiates children with autism from their unaffected siblings and age-matched controls. Journal of Proteome Research, 9(6), 2996–3004.

Kałużna-Czaplińska, J., Żurawicz, E., Struck-Lewicka, W., Markuszewski, M. J., & Misiak, B. (2019). Metabolomics in autism spectrum disorders: Review of the role of oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, and the gut microbiota. Metabolites, 9(6), 145.

Neurological System

Research Studies:
Estes, M. L., & McAllister, A. K. (2015). Immune mediators in the brain and peripheral tissues in autism spectrum disorder. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 16(8), 469–486.

Ecker, C., Bookheimer, S. Y., & Murphy, D. G. (2015). Neuroimaging in autism spectrum disorder: Brain structure and function across the lifespan. The Lancet Neurology, 14(11), 1121–1134.

Lai, M. C., Lombardo, M. V., & Baron-Cohen, S. (2014). Autism. The Lancet, 383(9920), 896–910.

Frye, R. E., Slattery, J., Delhey, L., Furgerson, B., Strickland, T., Tippett, M., Sailey, A., Wynne, R., Rose, S., Melnyk, S., & James, S. J. (2017). Folate metabolism abnormalities in autism: Potential biomarkers. Biomarkers in Medicine, 11(8), 687–699. 8

Zheng, Z., Zheng, P., & Zou, X. (2018). Association between schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorder: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Autism Research, 11(8), 1110–1119.

Nutritional Deficiencies, Supplements, and Diet

Research Studies:
Hyman, S. L., Stewart, P. A., Schmidt, B., Cain, U., Lemcke, N., Foley, J. T., Peck, R., Clemons, T., & Reynolds, A. (2016). Nutrient intake from food in children with autism. Pediatrics, 137(Supplement 2), S147–S156.

Sathe, N., Andrews, J. C., McPheeters, M. L., & Warren, Z. E. (2017). Nutritional and dietary interventions for autism spectrum disorder: A systematic review. Pediatrics, 139(6), e20170346.

Arnold, G. L., Hyman, S. L., Mooney, R. A., & Kirby, R. S. (2018). Plasma amino acids profiles in children with autism: Potential risk of nutritional deficiencies. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 48(1), 5–11.

Li, Y. J., Xie, X. N., Lei, X., Zhang, D., & Zhang, Y. (2018). Efficacy of vitamin D supplementation in autism spectrum disorder: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Autism Research, 11(6), 818–828.

Frye, R. E., Slattery, J. C., Delhey, L. M., Furgerson, B., Strickland, T., Tippett, M., Sailey, A., Wynne, R., Rose, S., Melnyk, S., & James, S. J. (2017). Folate metabolism abnormalities in autism: Potential biomarkers. Biomarkers in Medicine, 11(8), 687–699.

Oxidative Stress

Research Studies:
Frustaci, A., Neri, M., Cesario, A., Adams, J. B., Domenici, E., & Dalla Bernardina, B. (2012). Oxidative stress-related biomarkers in autism: Systematic review and meta-analyses. Free Radical Biology and Medicine, 52(10), 2128–2141.

Chauhan, A., & Chauhan, V. (2015). Oxidative stress in autism. Pathophysiology, 22(3), 224–234.

Rossignol, D. A., & Frye, R. E. (2014). Evidence linking oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, and inflammation in the brain of individuals with autism. Frontiers in Physiology, 5, 150.

El-Ansary, A., & Al-Ayadhi, L. (2012). Lipid mediators in plasma of autism spectrum disorders. Lipids in Health and Disease, 11, 160.

Ghezzo, A., Visconti, P., Abruzzo, P. M., Bolotta, A., Ferreri, C., Gobbi, G., Malisardi, G., Marini, M., Vignini, A., & Mazzanti, L. (2013). Oxidative stress and erythrocyte membrane alterations in children with autism: Correlation with clinical features. PLoS ONE, 8(6), e66418.

Prevalence

Research Studies:
Maenner, M. J., Shaw, K. A., Baio, J., Washington, A., Patrick, M., DiRienzo, M., Christensen, D. L., Wiggins, L. D., Pettygrove, S., Andrews, J. G., Lopez, M., Hudson, A., Baroud, T., Schwenk, Y., White, T., Rosenberg, C. R., Lee, L. C., Harrington, R. A., Huston, M., ... Dietz, P. M. (2020). Prevalence of autism spectrum disorder among children aged 8 years—Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network, 11 sites, United States, 2016. MMWR Surveillance Summaries, 69(4), 1–12.

Zeidan, J., Fombonne, E., Scorah, J., Ibrahim, A., Durkin, M. S., Saxena, S., Yusuf, A., Shih, A., & Elsabbagh, M. (2022). Global prevalence of autism: A systematic review update. Autism Research, 15(5), 778–790.

Kogan, M. D., Vladutiu, C. J., Schieve, L. A., Ghandour, R. M., Blumberg, S. J., Zablotsky, B., Perrin, J. M., Shattuck, P. T., & Lu, M. C. (2018). The prevalence of parent-reported autism spectrum disorder among US children. Pediatrics, 142(6), e20174161.

Xu, G., Strathearn, L., Liu, B., & Bao, W. (2018). Prevalence of autism spectrum disorder among US children and adolescents, 2014–2016. JAMA, 319(1), 81–82.

Baio, J., Wiggins, L., Christensen, D. L., Maenner, M. J., Daniels, J., Warren, Z., Kurzius-Spencer, M., Zahorodny, W., Rosenberg, C. R., White, T., Durkin, M. S., Imm, P., Nikolaou, L., Yeargin-Allsopp, M., Lee, L. C., Harrington, R., Lopez, M., Fitzgerald, R. T., Hewitt, A., ... Dowling, N. F. (2018). Prevalence of autism spectrum disorder among children aged 8 years—Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network, 11 sites, United States, 2014. MMWR Surveillance Summaries, 67(6), 1–23.
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