HYPERCHOLESTEROLEMIA IN ASPERGER SYNDROME

DOES THIS HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH, IN SPORADIC CASES, HAVING AN OLDER FATHER AT THE TIME OF CONCEPTION OR A MATERNAL GRANDFATHER WHO WAS OLDER WHEN ONES MOTHER WAS BORN?


Brief report

Hypercholesterolemia in Asperger syndrome: Independence from lifestyle, obsessive–compulsive behavior, and social anxiety

Isabel Dziobeka, b, Stefan M. Golda, Oliver T. Wolfb and Antonio Convita, c, ,
aCenter for Brain Health, HN-400, New York University School of Medicine, 550 First Avenue, New York, NY 10016, USA
bDepartment of Psychology, University of Bielefeld, Germany
cNathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY, USA
Received 16 October 2005; revised 19 December 2005; accepted 5 February 2006.

We report on elevated total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels in 22 individuals with Asperger syndrome compared with well-matched controls, after accounting for lifestyle variables and clinical symptomatology that could affect them. A potential role for dyslipidemia in the pathogenesis of some forms of autism is discussed.

Keywords: Autism; Lipid profile; Etiology



Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 212 263 7565; fax: +1 212 263 3270.

Psychiatry Research
Volume 149, Issues 1-3, 15 January 2007, Pages 321-324