Pilot Study of Maternal Autoantibody-Related Autism.
Kathleen Angkustsiri, Jill J Fussell, Amanda Bennett and 4 others
PMID 35943360WHAT IT FOUND
Children of mothers with specific autoantibodies showed higher autism severity scores on both parent and clinician assessments.
No differences were found in IQ, adaptive skills, or other behaviors. This pilot suggests a link to severity but cannot confirm cause.
Key findings
01Autism severity was significantly higher in children of mothers with maternal autoantibody (MAR) positivity, as measured by ADOS comparison scores and Social Communication Questionnaire totals.
02There were no significant differences in IQ, global adaptive function, or aberrant behaviors between children of MAR-positive and MAR-negative mothers.
03The overall prevalence of MAR positivity in the sample was 23.5%, with similar rates across the two geographically distinct study sites.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The sample size was small (68 mothers), limiting statistical power to detect differences in secondary outcomes. Plasma samples were collected up to 14 years after birth, so it is unknown if the autoantibodies were present during pregnancy when brain development occurs. The study lacked a control group of typically developing children or children with other developmental delays, so it cannot prove the antibodies are specific to autism. Data was abstracted from clinical records, leading to missing values for some assessments like the ADOS comparison score for 15 children. The study design was cross-sectional and associative, so it cannot determine whether the antibodies caused the severity differences or are a marker of another factor.
Declared interests
The authors declare no conflict of interest. The study was supported by U.S. Government and N.I.H. grants.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the association with higher autism severity as evidence that maternal autoantibodies cause autism or that testing for them can predict a child's functional outcome. The study found no differences in IQ or adaptive skills, and the cross-sectional design cannot prove causality.