Abstract—Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder, currently affecting as many as 1 out of 91 individuals in the United States; and Saudi Arabia is no exception. Autism is characterized by impairments in social interaction, difficulty with communication, and restrictive and repetitive behaviors. Although there is no known unique cause of autism, there is growing evidence that autism can be caused by a variety of factors, however its exact pathophysiology is unknown. The use of potential biomarkers that point to specific mechanism of autism disorder will help to diagnosis and tailor treatment or prevention strategies for autism rather than solely to a symptom category. The aim of this article is to provide an overview of the various potential autism biomarkers reported in literature for Saudi autistic children, particularly at Autism research and treatment center, King Saud University, KSA and consider the future development of this area of research.

Index Terms—Autism spectrum disorder, biomarkers.

Dost Muhammad Halepoto is with KSU-Autism Research and Treatment Center (99), Al-Amodi Autism research chair, Department of physiology (29), Faculty of Medicine, King Saud University, P O Box 2925, Riyadh 1146 Saudi Arabia (e-mail: dr_m_halepota@yahoo.com; tel.: 0096614699350; fax: 00966146993349).
Laila Y. Al-Ayadhi is with Autism Research and Treatment Centre (99), Al-Amodi Autism research chair, Department of physiology (29), Faculty of Medicine, King Khalid University Hospital King Saud University, PO Box, 2925, Riyadh 11461, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (e-mail: ayadh2@gmail.com; tel.: 009661479246; fax: 00966146993349).

 

Cite: Dost M Halepoto and Laila Y. Al-Ayadhi, "In Search of Autism Biomarkers: Possible Autism Bio-Markers Discovery at Autism Research and Treatment Center, King Saud University, KSA," International Journal of Bioscience, Biochemistry and Bioinformatics vol. 4, no. 3, pp. 175-179, 2014.