Abstract
Thyroid hormone plays an important role in the pre- and postnatal development and function of the central nervous system. Disturbances in thyroid hormone regulation have been hypothesized in childhood autism. We evaluated blood indices of thyroid function, including serum thyroxine, triiodothyronine, and thyroid-stimulating hormone, in a large population of autistic children. No differences were found between autistic and normal children.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
American Psychiatric Association.Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM-III) (3rd ed.). Washington, D.C.: APA Task Force on Nomenclature and Statistics, 1980.
Av Ruskin, T. W., Tang, S. C., Shenkman, L., Mitsuma, T., & Hollander, C. S. Serum triiodothyronine concentrations in infancy, childhood, adolescence and pediatric thyroid disorders.Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, 1973,37, 235–237.
Campbell, M., & Fish, B. Triiodothyronine in schizophrenic children. In A. J. Prange, Jr. (Ed.),The thyroid axis, drugs, and behavior. New York: Raven Press, 1974. Pp. 87–102.
Campbell, M., Hollander, C. S., Ferris, S., & Greene, L. W. Response to thyrotropin-releasing hormone stimulation in young psychotic children: A pilot study.Psychoneuroendocrinology, 1978,3, 195–201.
Campbell, M., Small, A. M., Hollander, C. S., Korein, J., Cohen, I. L., Kalmijn, M., & Ferris, S. A controlled crossover study of triiodothyronine in autistic children.Journal of Autism and Childhood Schizophrenia, 1978,8, 371–381.
Christensen, N. J. Plasma noradrenaline and adrenaline in patients with thyrotoxicosis and myxoedema.Clinical Science and Molecular Medicine, 1973,42, 163–171.
Cohen, D. J., Caparulo, B. K., Gold, J. R., Waldo, M. C., Shaywitz, B. A., Ruttenberg, B. A., & Rimland, B. Agreement in diagnosis: Clinical assessment and behavior rating scales for pervasively disturbed children.Journal of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry, 1978,17, 589–603.
Cohen, D. J., Caparulo, B. K., Shaywitz, B. A., & Bowers, M. B., Jr. Dopamine and serotonin metabolism in neuropsychiatrically disturbed children: CSF homovanillic acid and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid.Archives of General Psychiatry, 1977,34, 545–550.
Cohen, D. J., Shaywitz, B. A., Johnson, W. T., & Bowers, M. B., Jr. Biogenic amines in autistic and atypical children: Cerebrospinal fluid measures of homovanillic acid and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid.Archives of General Psychiatry, 1974,31, 845–853.
Cohen, D. J., Shaywitz, B. A., Young, J. G., & Bowers, M. B., Jr. Cerebrospinal fluid monoamine metabolites in neuropsychiatric disorders of childhood. In J. Wood (Ed.),Neurobiology of cerebrospinal fluid. New York: Plenum, 1980. Pp. 665–683.
Cohen, D. J., & Young, J. G. Neurochemistry and child psychiatry.Journal of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry, 1977,16, 353–411.
Cohen, K. L., & Swigar, M. E. Thyroid function screening in psychiatric patients.Journal of the American Medical Association, 1979,242, 254–257.
DeGroot, L. J. The thyroid. In P. Beeson, W. McDermott, & J. Wyngaarden (Eds.),Cecil textbook of medicine (15th ed.). Philadelphia: W. B. Saunders, 1979. Pp. 2114–2120.
Dratman, M. B. On the mechanism of action of thyroxine, an amino acid analog of tyrosine.Journal of Theoretical Biology, 1974,46, 255–270.
Klawans, H. L., & Shenker, D. M. Observations on the dopaminergic nature of hyperthyroid chorea.Journal of Neural Transmission, 1972,33, 73–81.
Kolakowska, T., & Swigar, M. E. Thyroid function in depression and alcohol abuse.Archives of General Psychiatry, 1977,34, 984–988.
Landsberg, L., & Axelrod, J. Influence of pituitary, thyroid, and adrenal hormones on norepinephrine turnover and metabolism in the rat heart.Circulation Research, 1968,22, 559–571.
Odell, W., Wilbur, J., & Paul, W. E. Radioimmunoassay of thyrotropin in human serum.Journal of Clinical Endocrinology, 1965,25, 1179–1188.
Seligson, H., & Seligson, D. Measurement of thyroxine by competitive protein binding.Clinica Chimica Acta, 1972,38, 199–205.
Sherwin, A. C., Flack, F. F., & Stokes, P. E. Treatment of psychoses in early childhood with triiodothyronine.American Journal of Psychiatry, 1958,115, 116–167.
Sterling, K. Thyroid hormone action at the cell level.New England Journal of Medicine, 1979,300, 117–123; 173–177.
Stoffer, S. S., Jiang, N. S., Gorman, C. A., & Pikler, G. M. Plasma catecholamines in hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism.Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, 1973,36, 587–589.
Young, J. G., & Cohen, D. J. The molecular biology of development. In J. Noshpitz (Ed.),Basic handbook of child psychiatry (Vol. 1). New York: Basic Books, 1979. Pp. 22–62.
Young, J. G., Feiz, R., Roth, J. A., Waldo, M. C., & Cohen, D. J. Studies of catecholamine-thyroid hormone interactions. I. Thyroid hormone and platelet monoamine oxidase activity in psychiatrically disturbed children.Schizophrenia Bulletin, 1980, in press.
Young, J. G., Kyprie, R. M., & Cohen, D. J. Studies of catecholamine-thyroid hormone interactions. III. Lack of association between serum dopamine-beta-hydroxylase activity and thyroxine in euthyroid subjects.Schizophrenia Bulletin, 1980, in press.
Young, J. G., Sprague, M. M., Cohen, D. J., Roth, J. A., & Genel, M. Studies of catecholamine-thyroid hormone interactions. II. Thyroid hormone and platelet monoamine oxidase activity in patients with thyroid disorders.Schizophrenia Bulletin, 1980, in press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
This research was supported in part by MH-CRC grant MH30929, CCRC grant RR 00125, NICHD grant HD-03008, the William T. Grant Foundation, Mr. Leonard Berger, and The Solomon R. & Rebecca D. Baker Foundation, Inc. We thank Ms. Mary Ellen Kavanagh for her technical assistance.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Cohen, D.J., Young, J.G., Lowe, T.L. et al. Thyroid hormone in autistic children. J Autism Dev Disord 10, 445–450 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02414820
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02414820