Autism Studies and Related Medical Conditions, January 2009 - TACA

and myo-inositol (-13%) concentrations compared to TD controls and prolonged
NAA T(2r) relative to TD (7%) and DD (9%) groups. Compared to DD subjects,
children with ASD also demonstrated prolonged T(2r) for choline (10%) and Cre
(9%). Regional analyses demonstrated subtle patterns of chemical alterations in
ASD compared to the TD and DD groups. CONCLUSIONS: Brain chemical
abnormalities are present in ASD at 3 to 4 years of age. However, the direction
and widespread distribution of these abnormalities do not support hypothesis of
diffuse increased neuronal packing density in ASD.
PMID: 12525726 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Gaull GE. Taurine in pediatric nutrition: review and update. Pediatrics. 1989
Mar;83(3):433-42.
Department of Pediatrics, Northwestern University School of Medicine, Chicago.
Taurine was long considered an end product of the metabolism of the sulfurcontaining
amino acids, methionine and cyst(e)ine. Its only clearly recognized
biochemical role had been as a substrate in the conjugation of bile acids. Taurine
is found free in millimolar concentrations in animal tissues, particularly those that
are excitable, rich in membranes, and generate oxidants. Various lines of
evidence suggest one major nutritional role as protecting cell membranes by
attenuating toxic substances and/or by acting as an osmoregulator. The totality
of evidence suggests that taurine is nonessential in the rodent, it is an essential
amino acid in the cat, and it is conditionally essential in man and monkey.
Absence from the diet of a conditionally essential nutrient does not produce
immediate deficiency disease but, in the long term, can cause problems. Taurine
is now added to many infant formulas as a measure of prudence to provide
improved nourishment with the same margin of safety for its newly identified
physiologic functions as that found in human milk. Such supplementation can be
justified by the finding of improved fat absorption in preterm infants and in
children with cystic fibrosis, as well as by salutary effects on auditory brainstemevoked
responses in preterm infants. Experimental findings in animal models and
in human cell models provide further justification for taurine supplementation of
infant formulas.
PMID: 2645571 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Geoghegan M, McAuley D, Eaton S, Powell-Tuck J. Selenium in critical illness. Curr Opin
Crit Care. 2006 Apr;12(2):136-41.
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