Children with autism experience deficits in a type of immune
cell that protects the body from infection. Called granulocytes, the cells
exhibit one-third the capacity to fight infection and protect the body from
invasion compared with the same cells in children who are developing normally.
The cells, which circulate in the bloodstream, are less able to deliver crucial infection-fighting oxidative responses to combat invading pathogens because of dysfunction in their tiny energy-generating organelles, the mitochondria.
Mitochondria are the main intracellular source of oxygen free radicals, which are very reactive and can harm cellular structures and DNA. Cells can repair typical levels of oxidative damage. However, in the children with autism the cells produced more free radicals and were less able to repair the damage, and as a result experienced more oxidative stress. The free radical levels in the blood cells of children with autism were 1 ½ times greater than those without the disorder.
The study was conducted using blood samples of children enrolled in the Childhood Risk of Autism and the Environment (CHARGE) Study and included 10 children with severe autism age 2 to 5 and 10 age-, race- and sex-matched children who were developing typically.
Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/1906245#ixzz31G4SQkEy
