Background

Preschooling is a critical time for intervention in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD); thus, we analyzed brain tissue component volumes (BTCVs) and clinical indicators in preschool children with ASD to identify new biomarkers for early screening.

Methods

Eighty preschool children (3–6 years) with ASD were retrospectively included. The whole-brain myelin content (MyC), white matter (WM), gray matter (GM), cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), and non-WM/GM/MyC/CSF brain component volumes were obtained using synthetic magnetic resonance imaging (SyMRI). Clinical data, such as intelligence scores, autism diagnostic observation schedule-calibrated severity scores, age at first production of single words (AFSW), age at first production of phrases (AFP), and age at walking onset (AWO), were also collected. The correlation between the BTCV and clinical data was evaluated, and the effect of BTCVs on clinical data was assessed by a regression model.

Results

WM and GM volumes were positively correlated with intelligence scores (both P < 0.001), but WM and GM did not affect intelligence scores (P = 0.116, P = 0.290). AWO was positively correlated with AFSW and AFP (both P < 0.001). The multivariate linear regression analysis revealed that MyC, AFSW, AFP, and AWO were significantly different (P = 0.005, P < 0.001, P < 0.001).

Conclusions

This study revealed positive correlations between WM and GM volumes and intelligence scores. Whole-brain MyC affected AFSW, AFP, and AWO in preschool children with ASD. Noninvasive quantification of BTCVs via SyMRI revealed a new visualizable and quantifiable biomarker (abnormal MyC) for early ASD screening in preschool children.

Graphical Abstract

中文翻译：

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患有自闭症谱系障碍的学龄前儿童的生物标志物：全脑组织成分体积、智力评分、ADOS-CSS以及第一个单词产生和开始行走的年龄的定量分析

背景

学前阶段是对自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）儿童进行干预的关键时期；因此，我们分析了患有 ASD 的学龄前儿童的脑组织成分体积 (BTCV) 和临床指标，以确定用于早期筛查的新生物标志物。

方法

回顾性纳入了 80 名患有 ASD 的学龄前儿童（3-6 岁）。使用合成磁共振成像 (SyMRI) 获得全脑髓磷脂含量 (MyC)、白质 (WM)、灰质 (GM)、脑脊液 (CSF) 和非 WM/GM/MyC/CSF 脑成分体积）。还收集了临床数据，例如智力评分、自闭症诊断观察计划校准的严重程度评分、首次说出单词时的年龄 (AFSW)、首次说出短语时的年龄 (AFP) 和开始行走时的年龄 (AWO) 。评估BTCV与临床数据之间的相关性，并通过回归模型评估BTCV对临床数据的影响。

结果

WM和GM体积与智力得分呈正相关（均P  <0.001），但WM和GM不影响智力得分（P  =0.116，P  =0.290）。 AWO 与 AFSW 和 AFP 呈正相关（均P  < 0.001）。多元线性回归分析显示MyC、AFSW、AFP、AWO差异显着（P  =0.005，P  <0.001，P  <0.001）。

结论

这项研究揭示了 WM 和 GM 体积与智力分数之间呈正相关。全脑 MyC 影响患有 ASD 的学龄前儿童的 AFSW、AFP 和 AWO。通过 SyMRI 对 BTCV 进行无创量化，揭示了一种新的可视化和可量化的生物标志物（异常 MyC），用于学龄前儿童早期 ASD 筛查。

图形概要