TY - JOUR
T1 - Brief Report
T2 - Whole Blood Serotonin Levels and Gastrointestinal Symptoms in Autism Spectrum Disorder
AU - Marler, Sarah
AU - Ferguson, Bradley J.
AU - Lee, Evon Batey
AU - Peters, Brittany
AU - Williams, Kent C.
AU - McDonnell, Erin
AU - Macklin, Eric A.
AU - Levitt, Pat
AU - Gillespie, Catherine Hagan
AU - Anderson, George M.
AU - Margolis, Kara Gross
AU - Beversdorf, David Q.
AU - Veenstra-VanderWeele, Jeremy
N1 - Funding Information:
Dr. Veenstra-VanderWeele has served on advisory boards for Novartis and Roche Pharmaceuticals. He has received research funding from Novartis, Roche Pharmaceuticals, Seaside Therapeutics, Forest, Sunovion, and SynapDx. Dr. Beversdorf has received research funding from Seaside Therapeutics. The other authors report no conflicts of interests.
Funding Information:
We would like to thank the children and families who participated in this study. This research was supported by a Grant given to the Autism Treatment Network, Autism Intervention Research Network on Physical Health by the Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA Grant# UA3MC11054). This article was reviewed by the funding body prior to submission.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2015, Springer Science+Business Media New York.
PY - 2016/3/1
Y1 - 2016/3/1
N2 - Elevated whole blood serotonin levels are observed in more than 25 % of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Co-occurring gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms are also common in ASD but have not previously been examined in relationship with hyperserotonemia, despite the synthesis of serotonin in the gut. In 82 children and adolescents with ASD, we observed a correlation between a quantitative measure of lower GI symptoms and whole blood serotonin levels. No significant association was seen between functional constipation diagnosis and serotonin levels in the hyperserotonemia range, suggesting that this correlation is not driven by a single subgroup. More specific assessment of gut function, including the microbiome, will be necessary to evaluate the contribution of gut physiology to serotonin levels in ASD.
AB - Elevated whole blood serotonin levels are observed in more than 25 % of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Co-occurring gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms are also common in ASD but have not previously been examined in relationship with hyperserotonemia, despite the synthesis of serotonin in the gut. In 82 children and adolescents with ASD, we observed a correlation between a quantitative measure of lower GI symptoms and whole blood serotonin levels. No significant association was seen between functional constipation diagnosis and serotonin levels in the hyperserotonemia range, suggesting that this correlation is not driven by a single subgroup. More specific assessment of gut function, including the microbiome, will be necessary to evaluate the contribution of gut physiology to serotonin levels in ASD.
KW - 5-HT
KW - Autism Treatment Network
KW - Gastrointestinal (GI)
KW - IL-6
KW - Medical comorbidities
KW - Serotonin
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U2 - 10.1007/s10803-015-2646-8
DO - 10.1007/s10803-015-2646-8
M3 - Article
C2 - 26527110
AN - SCOPUS:84957851378
SN - 0162-3257
VL - 46
SP - 1124
EP - 1130
JO - Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders
JF - Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders
IS - 3
ER -