Mothers of autistic children: lower plasma levels of oxytocin and Arg-vasopressin and a higher level of testosterone

PLoS One. 2013 Sep 25;8(9):e74849. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0074849. eCollection 2013.

Abstract

Background: Autism is a pervasive neurodevelopmental disorder,thought to be caused by a combination of genetic heritability and environmental risk factors. Some autistic-like traits have been reported in mothers of autistic children. We hypothesized that dysregulation of oxytocin (OXT), Arg-vasopressin (AVP) and sex hormones, found in autistic children, may also exist in their mothers.

Methods: We determined plasma levels of OXT (40 in autism vs. 26 in control group), AVP (40 vs. 17) and sex hormones (61 vs. 47) in mothers of autistic and normal children by enzyme immunoassay and radioimmunoassay, respectively and investigated their relationships with the children's autistic behavior scores (Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) and Autism Behavior Checklist (ABC)).

Results: Significantly lower plasma concentrations of OXT (p<0.001) and AVP (p<0.001), as well as a higher level of plasma testosterone (p<0.05), were found in mothers of autistic children vs. those of control. The children's autistic behavior scores were negatively associated with maternal plasma levels of OXT and AVP.

Conclusions: These results suggest that dysregulation of OXT, AVP and/or testosterone systems exist in mothers of autistic children, which may impact children's susceptibility to autism.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Arginine Vasopressin / blood*
  • Autistic Disorder / blood*
  • Behavior
  • Child
  • Child, Preschool
  • Demography
  • Estradiol / blood
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Linear Models
  • Mothers*
  • Oxytocin / blood*
  • Testosterone / blood*

Substances

  • Arginine Vasopressin
  • Testosterone
  • Estradiol
  • Oxytocin

Grants and funding

This project was supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81271507, http://www.nsfc.gov.cn/) to JSH. The study was also supported by Peking University Special Project for promoting joint research between basic and clinical sciences (http://www.pku.edu.cn/). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.