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Study of Serum Level of L-Carnitine in Children with Non-Syndromic Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Biological Metabolic Marker

Background : Autism Spectrum Disease (ASD) is a complex developmental disorder. Children with autism spectrum disorder have low serum levels of L-carnitine. Aim: We aimed at assessing the reliability of using the serum level of L-carnitine as a biomarker in children with ASD. Subjects and Methods : This is a case-control study conducted on 60 children at the outpatient Neurobehavioral Clinic of Alexandria University Children’s Hospital (AUCH), divided into 2 groups. Group 1 (research group): 30 children diagnosed with ASD and Group 2 (control group): 30 healthy children. Children of both groups were subjected to history taking, clinical neurological examination, Childhood autism rating scale (CARS), and serum carnitine level measurement. Results : The mean serum level of L-carnitine in children with ASD was significantly lower in cases than in control children. No statistically significant correlation between low levels of serum L-carnitine and gender was detected in the patients’ group. The severity of ASD symptoms had a non-significant correlation with levels of L-carnitine. Conclusion : Serum L-carnitine can be considered a biochemical metabolic marker for mitochondrial dysfunction in children with ASD.