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Biomarkers of preschool children with autism spectrum disorder: quantitative analysis of whole-brain tissue component volumes, intelligence scores, ADOS-CSS, and ages of first-word production and walking onset

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Abstract

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.

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Data availability

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request. Biomarkers of preschool children with autism spectrum disorder: quantitative analysis of whole-brain tissue component volumes, intelligence scores, ADOS-CSS, and ages of first-word production and walking onset.

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Funding

This study was supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 81801757), Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation (Nos. 2022A1515010369 and 2023A1515010256), and Guangzhou Municipal Science and Technology Project (No. 202201020421).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, No. 600 Tianhe Road, Guangzhou, 510630, China

    Xiang Zhou, Wu-Sheng Lin, Feng-Yun Zou, Shuang-Shuang Zhong, Ya-Yin Deng, Xiao-Wen Luo, Li-Shan Shen & Ruo-Mi Guo

  2. Department of Child Development and Behavior Center, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, No. 600 Tianhe Road, Guangzhou, 510630, China

    Shi-Huan Wang

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  1. Xiang Zhou
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Contributions

ZX, LWS and ZFY contributed equally to this work. ZX and WSH contributed to data collection and analysis, and manuscript editing. LWS and ZFY contributed to data collection and analysis. ZSS, DYY, LXW, and SLS contributed to data collection. GRM contributed to data collection and analysis, manuscript editing, and project development. All authors approved the final version of the manuscript.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Shi-Huan Wang or Ruo-Mi Guo.

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Ethical approval

This study was approved by the Institutional Research Ethics Committee of the Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University (II2023-003–01), and written informed consent was obtained from the guardians of all children.

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Zhou, X., Lin, WS., Zou, FY. et al. Biomarkers of preschool children with autism spectrum disorder: quantitative analysis of whole-brain tissue component volumes, intelligence scores, ADOS-CSS, and ages of first-word production and walking onset. World J Pediatr (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12519-024-00800-7

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