At Least 5% of Children with Autism Have an Underlying Problem with their Mitochondria

A few research groups are finding that roughly 5% of children with Autism have an underlying mitochondria problem, but it is unclear whether this is the primary cause of the disorder. 

"This contributes to this general idea that you need multiple hits in order to get autism," notes Ricardo Dolmetsch, assistant professor of neurobiology at Stanford University School of Medicine.

About 1 in 4,000 people carry a defect in their mitochondria.  These defects vary in severity depending on which tissues are impacted.  Mitrochondrial disease was first linked to autism in 1998.

"Five percent is sort of in the diagnostic noise," he says. "I suspect that at least part of the association comes from the fact that at the low end of the spectrum, the definition of autism gets really fuzzy." Wong says more comprehensive screenings will probably show that the number is actually much higher than five percent.

Source:  Simmons Foundation Autism Research Initiative