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

Abstract

BackgroundAutism 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.MethodsWe 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)).ResultsSignificantly lower plasma concentrations of OXT (pConclusionsThese 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.