Top

Published in:

01-02-2008 | ORIGINAL CONTRIBUTION

Slower cortisol response during ACTH stimulation test in autistic children

Authors: Jasna Marinović-Ćurin, Ivana Marinović-Terzić, Zorana Bujas-Petković, Ljubinka Zekan, Veselin Škrabić, Zoran Đogaš, Janoš Terzić

Published in: European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry | Issue 1/2008

Abstract

Autism is a hereditary, pervasive neurodevelopmental disorder that starts early in life. The main characteristics of the autism are impairment in social interactions, difficulties in adapting to novel environmental situations and improper reaction to stress. Since the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenocortical (HPA) axis plays a key role in the response to stress and because the previous research found abnormalities in HPA system, we conducted a study to test several elements of the HPA axis. Because autism is a heritable disorder, autistic subjects were studied as well as their parents. Cortisol circadian rhythm, cortisol daily secretion and its suppression response to dexamethason had been measured from saliva or urine samples of the autistic children and their parents. Cortisol secretion response after ACTH stimulation was done with the autistic children only. The cortisol elevation after ACTH stimulation among the autistic individuals was slower (P = 0.017) than in healthy controls. No differences were found in salivary cortisol circadian rhythm or suppression response, as well as in cortisol daily excretion. These data indicate that, compared to healthy subjects, autistic individuals have fine differences in cortisol response to ACTH stimulation or possibly to other types of stress.

American Psychiatric Association (1994) Diagnostic and statistical manual of Mental disorders, (4th edn, rev). Author, Washington, DC

Aylward EH, Minshev NJ, Goldstein G, Honeycutt NA, Augustine AM, Yates KO, Barta PE, Pearlson GD (1999) MRI volumes of amygdala and hippocampus in not mentally retarded autistic adolescents and adults. Neurology 53:2145–2150PubMed

Corbett BA, Mendosa S, Abdullah M, Wegelin JA, Levine S (2006) Cortisol circadian rhythms and response to stress in children with autism. Psychoneuroendochrinology 31:59–68CrossRef

Dawson G (2001) The search for autism’s roots. Nature 41:882–884

Harris B, Watkins S, Cook N, Walker RF, Read GF, Riad-Fahmy D (1990) Comparisons of plasma and salivary cortisol determinations for the diagnostic efficacy of the dexametasone suppression test. Biol Psychiatry 27:897–904PubMedCrossRef

Herbert J (1998) Neurosteroids, brain damage, and mental illnes. Exp Gerontol 33:713–727PubMedCrossRef

Hrdlicka M, Dudlova I, Beranova I, Lisy J, Belsan T, Neuwirth J, Komarek V, Faladova L, Havlovicova M, Sedlacek Z, Blatny M, Urbanek T (2005) Subtypes of autism by cluster analysis based on srtuctural MRI data. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry 14:138–144PubMedCrossRef

Jacobson L (2005) Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis regulation. Endocrinol Metab Clin North Am 34:271–292PubMedCrossRef

Jansen LM, Gispen-de Wied CC, van der Gaag RJ, ten Hove F, Willemsen-Swinkels SW, Harteveld E, Engeland H (2000) Unresponsivness to psychosocial stress in subgroup of autistic-like children, multiple complex developmental disorder. Psychoneuroendocrinology 25:753–764PubMedCrossRef

10.

Jansen LM, Gispen-de Wied CC, van der Gaag RJ, van Engeland F (2003) Differentiation between autism and multiple complex developmental disorder in response to psychosocial stress. Neuropsychopharmachology 28:582–590CrossRef

11.

KiessW, Meidert A, Dressendorfer RA, Schriever K, Kessler U, Konig A, Schwarz HP, Strasburger CJ (1995) Salivary cortisol levels throughout childhood and adolescence: relation with age, pubertal stage, and weight. Pediatr Res 37:502–506PubMedCrossRef

12.

Lainhart JE (1997) Developmental abnormalities in autism. Lancet 349:373–374PubMedCrossRef

13.

Lifshitz F (1996) Pediatric endocrinology, (3rd edn). Mercel-Dekkor Inc., New York

14.

Marinovic-Curin J, Terzic J, Bujas-Petkovic Z, Zekan LJ, Marinovic-Terzic I, Marasovic-Susnjara I (2003) Lower cortisol and higher ACTH levels in individuals with autism. J Autism Dev Disord 33:443–448CrossRef

15.

Mash EJ, Russell AB (2003) Child psychopathology, (2nd edn). The Guilford Press, New York

16.

Matarazzo EB (2002) Treatment of late onset autism as a consequence of probable autoimmune processes related to chronic bacterial infection. World J Biol Psychiatry 3:162–166PubMedCrossRef

17.

Molloy CA, Manning-Courtney P (2003) Prevalence of chronic gastrointestinal symptoms in children with autism and autistic spectrum disorders. Autism 7:165–171PubMedCrossRef

18.

Nir I, Meir D, Zilber N, Knobler H, Hadjez J, Lerner Y (1995) Brief report: circadian melatonin, thyroid-stimulating hormone, prolactin, and cortisol levels in serum of young adults with autism. J Autism Dev Disorder 25:641–654CrossRef

19.

Palmen SJ, van England H, Hof PR, Shmitz C (2004) Neuropathological findings in autism. Brain 127:2572–2583PubMedCrossRef

20.

Ranke MB (2003) Diagnostics of endocrine function in children and adolescents, (1st edn). Karger, Basel

21.

Richdale AL, Prior MR (1992) Urinary cortisol circadian rhythm in a group of High functioning children with autism. J Autism Dev Disord 22:433–447PubMedCrossRef

22.

Rojas DC, Smith JA, Benkers TL, Camou SL, Reite ML, Rogers SJ (2004) Hippocampus and amygdala volume in parents of children with autistic disorder. Am J Psychiatry 161:2038–2044PubMedCrossRef

23.

Sandman CA, Barron JL, Chiez-DeMet A, DeMet EM (1991) Brief report: plasma beta endorfin and cortisol levels in autistic patients. J Autism Dev Disord 21:83–87PubMedCrossRef

24.

Shao Y, Cuccaro ML, Hauser ER, Raiford KL, Menold M, Wolpert CM, Ravan SA, Elston L, Decena K, Donnelly SL, Abramson RK, Wright HH, Delong GR, Gilbert JR, Pericak-Vance MA (2003) Fine mapping of autistic disorder to chromosome15q11-q13 by use of phenotypic subtypes. Am J Hum Genet 72:539–548PubMedCrossRef

25.

Stokstad E (2001) New hints into the biological basis of autism. Science 294:34–37PubMedCrossRef

26.

Strous RD, Golubchik P, Maayan R, Mozes T, Tuati-Werner D, Weizman A, Spivak B (2005) Lowered DHEA-S plasma levels in adult individuals with autistic disorder. Eur Neuropsychopharmacol 15:305–309PubMedCrossRef

27.

Tordjman S, Anderson GM, McBride PA, Hertzing ME, Snow ME, Hall LM, Thompson SM, Ferrari P, Cohen DJ (1997) Plasma beta-endorfin, adrenocorticotropin hormone, and cortisol in autism. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 38:705–715PubMedCrossRef

28.

Trottier G, Srivastava L, Walker CD (1999) Etiology of infantile autism: a review of recent advances in genetic and neurobiological research. J Psychiatry Neurosci 24:103–115PubMed

29.

Vedhara K, Hyde J, Gilchrist ID, Tytherleigh M, Plummer S (2000) Acute stress, memory, attention and cortisol. Psychoneuroendocrinology 25:535–549PubMedCrossRef

30.

Veenstra-van der Weele J, Cook EH (2004) Molecular genetics of autism spectrum disorder. Mol Psychiatry 7:73–78

31.

Wassink TH, Brzustowicz LM, Bartlett CW, Szatmari P (2004) The search of Autism disease genes. Ment Retard Dev Disabil Res Rev 10:272–283PubMedCrossRef

32.

Waterhouse L, Fein D, Modahl C (1996) Neurofunctional mehanisms in autism. Psychol Rev 103:457–489PubMedCrossRef

33.

Wolft S (2004) The history of autism. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry 13:201–208CrossRef

Title: Slower cortisol response during ACTH stimulation test in autistic children
Authors: Jasna Marinović-Ćurin
Ivana Marinović-Terzić
Zorana Bujas-Petković
Ljubinka Zekan
Veselin Škrabić
Zoran Đogaš
Janoš Terzić
Publication date: 01-02-2008
Publisher: D. Steinkopff-Verlag
Published in: European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry / Issue 1/2008
Print ISSN: 1018-8827
Electronic ISSN: 1435-165X
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-007-0632-1

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

Springer Medicine

Slower cortisol response during ACTH stimulation test in autistic children

Abstract

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

Springer Medicine

Abstract

Please log in to get access to this content

Other articles of this Issue 1/2008

Categorical and dimensional aspects of co-morbidity in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)

Screening of depression in adolescents through the Internet

Relations between movement disorders and psychopathology under predominantly atypical antipsychotic treatment in adolescent patients with schizophrenia

Emotional and behavioural problems in migrant adolescents in Belgium

Antenatal mental representations about the child and mother–infant interaction at three months post partum

Risperidone versus haloperidol in children and adolescents with AD