Is urinary indolyl-3-acryloylglycine a biomarker for autism with gastrointestinal symptoms?

Abstract

An autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnosis is based on clinical behaviours as there are no validated biological diagnostic tools. Indolyl-3-acryloylglycine (IAG) is a chemical produced by gut microflora and there are conflicting reports as to whether urinary levels are elevated in children with ASD compared with controls. Urinary IAG levels in morning urine samples were statistically significantly higher in children with ASD whose caregivers reported the presence of chronic gastrointestinal (GI) disturbance than children with ASD without chronic GI disturbance. Urinary IAG, however, was not statistically significantly higher in children with ASD, compared with siblings or unrelated controls without ASD.

Keywords::

• Autism spectrum disorder
• indolyl-3-acryloylglycine
• gastrointestinal disturbance
• diagnosis
• urinary biomarker
• subtypes

Acknowledgements

We wish to express our gratitude to the participating children and their parents and to Ms Susan Gravier for her involvement in urine sample collection. This research was funded by Cure Autism Now.

Declaration of interest:The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.