Study of hypothalamic pituitary gonadal axis in Egyptian autistic children and adolescents

Abstract

Autism Spectrum Disorders comprise an extremely heterogeneous class of neurodevelopmental disorders. Consonant with the heterogeneity of ASDs is the multiplicity of proposed causative factors, with candidates including genetic, hormonal, immunologic, and early life stress factors. Autism affects males more than females, occurring at a ratio at least 3:1. This sex difference may reflect a male vulnerability to develop autism, as individuals with autism tend to display a hypermasculine profile on many cognitive tasks. Testicular androgens have a central role in human male development. In prenatal life, increased testicular androgens around 4–6 weeks gestation masculinize the genitalia and initiate the sexual differentiation of the brain through hormonally dependent, sex-specific changes in the ultrastructure of the developing central nervous system (e.g., cell proliferation, cell death, patterns of cell migration, dendritic branching). A series of clinical studies have examined androgen metabolites in patients diagnosed with an ASD. These studies have revealed hormonal patterns consistent with significantly elevated androgen levels in patients diagnosed with an ASD relative to controls. In light of evidence revealing significantly elevated