Less Capability to Excrete Food Pesticide Residues in ASD Children

Less Capability to Excrete Food Pesticide Residues in ASD Children Mattia Orazi1*, Maria Cavaliere1, Valentina F. Domingues2, Marco Piangerelli3, Marina Marini4, Alessandro Ghezzo4, Paola Visconti5, Rosita Gabbianelli1 1School of Pharmacy, University of Camerino, 62032 Camerino, Italy; 2Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto, Instituto Politécnico do Porto, 4200-072 Porto, Portugal; 3Computer Science Division, School of Science and Technology, University of Camerino, 62032 Camerino, Italy; 4DIMES, School of Medicine, Università di Bologna, 40126 Bologna, Italy and Don Carlo Gnocchi Foundation ONLUS, 20162 Milan, Italy; 5Institute of Neurological Sciences-Bologna, 40126 Bologna, Italy E-Mail mattia.orazi@studenti.unicam.it Objectives: Pyrethroids are widly used in agriculture as pest control and their residues are present in fruits and vegetables. Moreover the main pyrethroid metabolite, the 3-phenoxibenzoic acid (3-PBA), was detected in people’s urine from different countries. The objective of this study was to evaluate if there is a correlation between pyrethroid exposure and the incidence of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). To reach this aim the level of 3-PBA in urine from ASD and Control (CTR) children was analyzed by GC-MS. Methods: A total of 40 children were recruited in this case–control study. All were admitted to the Child Neuropsychiatric Unit of the Bellaria Hospital of Bologna (Neurological Sciences Institute IRCCS-Bologna). In these, 21 (17 males and 4 females) had a diagnosis of ASD, and 19 (15 males and 4 females) were Control children (CTR). In the ASD group, mean age was 6.9 years (SEM = 0.509); in CTR group, mean age was 7.4 years (SEM = 0.485). ASD diagnosis was made according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV (DSM IV TR criteria, Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) and Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS). CARS was between 31.5 and 47 (mean value = 39.265, SEM = 0.873). The analytes were separated from the matrix by means of solid-phase extraction using a reversed-phase/strong cation exchange column. Separation and quantitative analysis was carried out by capillary gas chromatography and mass selective detection. The detection limits was 0.0038 μg per ml urine. The relative standard deviations of the within-series imprecision were always less than 10%. Results: The average values in urine of each population were 1.48 μg/ml in ASD (Variance 4.94) and 0.63 μg/ml in CTR (Variance 0.22). A significant increase of 3-PBA with the age in CTR children was found (R2 = 0.2196; p = 0.043), while no age-related change could be observed in ASD children R2 = 0.0661; p > 0.05). No correlation between CARS total score and 3-PBA in urine was observed (R2 = 0.0539; p > 0.05). In two children (both male and 6 years of age) in ASD group we found very high values of 3-PBA, reaching values from 3 to 6 times higher than the average of the sample, respectively. Conclusions: We could hypothesize that the increased level of 3-PBA in ASD children compared to CTR might be due to different factors like increased absorption (i.e. higher gut permeability) and/or differences in metabolization of 3-PBA (i.e. polymorphisms). Studies devoted to this aim might be object of future investigation.