Qualitative Evaluation of α-Synuclein: A Critical Step in Unravelling the Complexities of Autism Spectrum Disorder

Abstract

α-synuclein is a widely studied biomarker in neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and neurodegenerative diseases (termed synucleinopathies), including Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Parkinson’s disease (PD), dementia with Lewy bodies (DLBs), and multiple system atrophy. There are conflicting reports on the levels of α-synuclein in children with ASD compared to normal matched controls, with some reporting increased plasma levels and others decreased levels. Al-Mazidi, S., et al have reported that plasma Levels of α-synuclein in ASD is an indicator of disease severity. We go a step further in extrapolating that it is more important to qualitatively evaluate the α-synuclein based on its conformation for better understanding of disease mechanisms and planning treatment strategies. This is inferred from studies that have reported increase in plasma levels of α-synuclein in ASD after supplementation with beta glucans with beneficial effects on sleep and behaviour pattern in these children.

Reply to: “Qualitative Evaluation of α-Synuclein: A Critical Step in Unravelling the Complexities of Autism Spectrum Disorder”

“…We thank the authors for their interest in our paper “Plasma Levels of Alpha and Gamma Synucleins in Autism Spectrum Disorder: An Indicator of Severity” [ 1 ] and for expressing insightful inputs on the means of assessing the levels of α-synuclein. As mentioned by the authors of this letter [ 2 ], α-synuclein has been newly introduced as a biomarker of interest in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) children [ 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]. The controversial results are due to factors such as sample size, laboratory techniques, the assessed sample (plasma vs. saliva), and the severity of ASD, which was discussed extensively in the published paper [ 1 ].…”