New indicator for autistic spectrum disorder

Autistic spectrum disorders (ASD) are often diagnosed from tests and also from subjective observational conclusions. New research may have identified another marker, a physical abnormality in the airway. The research was presented at CHEST 2001, a meeting of the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP).

“With all the bronchoscopies I’ve performed, I have not seen this type of abnormality in children who aren’t autistic,” said study author Barbara Stewart, MD, Nemours Children’s Clinic, Pensacola, Florida. “It appears to be a definitive marker for autism or autistic spectrum disorder.”

Dr. Stewart studied 49 children under the age of 18 who had ASD and were seen in a pulmonary clinic with a diagnosis of cough unresponsive to therapy. Bronchoscopic evaluations revealed that all the children had anatomy that was initially normal, followed by take-offs in the lower airway that were doubled or “doublets” as they are referred to by Stewart. She further asserted that no patient without autism has ever presented with doublets.

“Another way to think of this is ‘symmetric doubling’ of airways in the lower airways When airways divide beyond the first generation, they typically branch like a tree, with one branch on one side and one on the other. A doublet occurs when there are twin branches that come off together instead of one, which are exactly symmetrical, in each of the lower locations that can be seen,” explained Stewart.

This should not be used to diagnose autism, however.

“Bronchoscopy is a useful tool, but it is still an invasive surgical procedure and one that should not be undertaken lightly. The practitioner should consider the root cause for the embryologic anomaly, asking the deeper question concerning the genetic link of the doubling,” said Stewart.

Source: CHEST, MedicalNewsToday