Quantitative Stool Culture of Candida in Autism Spectrum Disorder in Cairo, Egypt

Abstract

high prevalence of gastrointestinal distress, including abdominal pain, bloating, diarrhea and constipation, has been reported among children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) C. albicans, when present in excess has been hypothesized to be correlated with autism. It produces ammonia (NH3) as a metabolite. Propionic acid, in the presence of ammonia metabolites in gastrointestinal tract, could be converted to beta-alanine, which is structurally comparable to the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA (Gamma, aminobutyric acid). It is neurotransmitter in mammalian central nervous system, Its principal role is to reduce neural excitability throughout the nervous system and regulate muscle tone by inhibitory action on receptors. Our study aimed to estimate the quantity of Candida in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) patients compared to normal children and to find the correlation between Candida colony count and severity of ASD. It was conducted on 40 autistic patients diagnosed as autism spectrum disorder according DSM-5 2013 and 40 healthy controls.The age ranged from 3 to 14 years. Eighty stool samples were collected from each patient and control which were cultured on Sabaroud dextrose agar for candida identification and quantitation. Then colonies were subcultured on CHROMagar for candida species identification. Our results showed male predominance in autistic patients with male to female ratio about 4:1.Candida species were detected in 33 specimens; 23(57.5%) in patients and ten (25%) in control group. There was statistically significant higher positivity in patients group compared to control group , with p-value (p=0.006). Regarding candida species. We detected 14 (60.9%) with C.albicans; two(8.7%) C.glabrata; six(26.1%) o C.krusie and one (4.3%) C.utilis in patients group. Our control group showed C.albicans (50%), C.glabrata (30%) and C.keusie (20%).