Liver Enzyme Activity In Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder

This study investigates liver enzymes activity, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) among children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), assessing enzyme variation linked to body mass index (BM1) and other factors.  The study included blood samples withdrawn from 40 children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), 32 males and 8 females. In addition, 36 blood samples were collected from their siblings to be used as a control group. The ages of the ASD children were between 2 -16 years. Statistical analysis was used to compare the liver enzyme activities of the blood samples, who were subdivided according to gender, age, and, BMI. Descriptive information was also collected on children with (ASD) like prescriptions, taking antibiotics, diet, supplements, to determine the extent of its association with autism disorder or the dysfunction that may occur in the liver.The results showed that the levels of ALP, AST, and ALT were significantly induced in the ASD group compared to the control group. There were significant differences between healthy male children compared to male children with ASD, as well as for females. There were clear significant differences in the levels of the three liver enzymes ALP, AST, and ALT to the effect of BMI, whether within the ASD children group between the different categories. There were also significant differences between the categories of the two groups. The BMI category for ASD children (< 30 kg\m2) had the largest significant difference compared to the other categories in both groups.