A new study published in the journal Nutrition and Metabolism evaluates the nutritional and metabolic status of 55 children with autism spectrum disorders compared to 44 neurotypical children of similar age and gender. Compared to the neurotypical children, children with autism had significantly worse nutritional and metabolic status.

Some of the highlights of the study highlights:

• Low levels of ATP (a major fuel for the body and the brain) suggest that children with autism have impaired mitochondrial function (decreased energy production).
• The findings of lower levels of biotin and other vitamins, and biomarkers indicating increased need for vitamins, strongly suggests that vitamin/mineral supplementation would be helpful for most children with autism.

More details here, or link to the full version of the published paper here.

Principal investigator scheduled to speak at workshops in the UK this July - see events section.