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Scientists Find Possible Autism Biomarker In Cerebrospinal Fluid

Researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine, the University of California, Davis (UC Davis), and the University of California San Francisco (UCSF), have shown that low levels of the hormone vasopressin, found in fluid that surrounds the brain, may be linked to low social abilities in monkeys and to autism in children.

When the researchers compared monkeys with less social ability to those with high social ability, they found that the monkeys with less social ability had significantly less vasopressin in their cerebrospinal fluid. In addition, researchers examined the vasopressin levels of seven boys with autism and seven without it. They found that children with autism had lower vasopressin levels in their cerebrospinal fluid than those without it.

The researchers now want to replicate the study and test a larger group of monkeys to explore whether low vasopressin could be detected before symptoms of impaired social ability emerge. “What we consider this to be at this point is a biomarker for low sociability,” said senior author John Capitanio, PhD, professor of psychology at UC Davis.

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Funding: The research was funded by grants from the National Institutes of Health, the Simons Foundation, the Mosbacher Family Fund for Autism Research, Stanford Bio-X, the Weston Havens Foundation, Stanford’s Child Health Research Institute, the Katherine D. McCormick Fund and the Yani Calmidis Memorial Fund for Autism Research.