Increased Prevalence of Familial Autoimmunity in Probands With Pervasive Developmental Disorders Thayne L. Sweeten,
PhD, Suzanne L. Bowyer, MD, David J. Posey, MD, Gary M. Halberstadt, DO,
and Christoher J. McDougle, MD Abstract: Pediatrics, 2003 Nov;112(5):e420 Findings Many theories on the cause of autism have been proposed; one theory suggests that autoimmune disturbances may contribute to this disorder. Those genes believed responsible for some autoimmune disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) are significantly increased in autistic individuals. Also, certain immune processes are abnormal in autistic children compared with typically developing children. To study whether autoimmune disorders are more frequent in families with an autistic child, Dr. Sweeten and his colleagues questioned 100 families in each of three groups: (1) with typically developing children, (2) that had a child with an autoimmune disorder, and (3) that had a child with a PDD (including autism, Asperger, and PDD-NOS). The autoimmune disorders included such disorders as juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, juvenile dermatomyositits, SLE, porasis, scleroderma, and ankylosing spondylitis. Results indicated that parents of children with PDD were more likely than parents of healthy children to have autoimmune disease (p=0.0009). Conclusions Parents (especially mothers) of children with PDDs have an increased incidence of autoimmune disease, a finding confirmed in other studies, but studies differ in terms of which autoimmune diseases are increased (eg, one study found increase in rheumatoid arthritis, whereas this study found increase in hypothyroidism/Hashminoto's thyroiditis and rheumatic fever). However, while the authors caution that "a definitive relationship between autism and autoimmunity has not been established", on the basis of this study "there seems to be suggestive evidence in support of autoimmune contributions to the pathophysiology of autism in some cases." These preliminary findings warrant further investigation into the immune and autoimmune mechanisms of autism. |