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Towards a future molecular diagnosis of autism: Recent advances in biomarkers research from saliva samples
Author(s) -
GalianaSimal Adrian,
MuñozMartinez Victoria,
CaleroBueno Paloma,
VelaRomero Maria,
BeatoFernandez Luis
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
international journal of developmental neuroscience
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.761
H-Index - 88
eISSN - 1873-474X
pISSN - 0736-5748
DOI - 10.1016/j.ijdevneu.2018.03.004
Subject(s) - autism , saliva , autism spectrum disorder , psychology , medicine , psychiatry
Autism spectrum disorder diagnosis is currently based on clinical observations and behavioral evaluations exclusively, without any biological determination. Molecular biomarkers are usually obtained from biological fluids, such as blood or urine, generally through invasive and uncomfortable procedures. Patients with autism are characterized by sensory reactivity and behavioral difficulties which make sample collection problematic. Saliva has emerged as a feasible alternative to obtain relevant biological information and is especially indicated in the case of children with autism due to its painless and noninvasive sampling characteristics. Furthermore, saliva represents a valuable resource to study candidate biomarkers of autism. This has resulted in a number of interesting studies reported during the last 5 years that we have gathered and briefly discussed.