Neuron-Specific Enolase (NSE) as a Biomarker for Autistic Spectrum Disease (ASD)

Autistic spectrum disease (ASD) is an increasingly common diagnosis nowadays with a prevalence of 1-2% in most countries. Its complex causality-a combination of genetic, immune, metabolic, and environmental factors-is translated into pleiomorphic developmental disorders of various severity, which have two main aspects in common: repetitive, restrictive behaviors and difficulties in social interaction varying from awkward habits and verbalization to a complete lack of interest for the outside world. The wide variety of ASD causes also makes it very difficult to find a common denominator-a disease biomarker and medication-and currently, there is no commonly used diagnostic and therapeutic strategy besides clinical evaluation and psychotherapy. In the CORDUS clinical study, we have administered autologous cord blood to ASD kids who had little or no improvement after other treatments and searched for a biomarker which could help predict the degree of improvement in each patient. We have found that the neuron-specific enolase (NSE) was elevated above the normal clinical range (less than 16.3 ng/mL) in the vast majority of ASD kids tested in our study (40 of 41, or 97.5%). This finding opens up a new direction for diagnostic confirmation, dynamic evaluation, and therapeutic intervention for ASD kids.

Automated summary

Autistic spectrum disease (ASD) is a common diagnosis with a prevalence of 1-2% worldwide. The complex causality of ASD, involving genetic, immune, metabolic, and environmental factors, leads to a wide range of developmental disorders characterized by repetitive behaviors and social interaction difficulties. Currently, there is no commonly used diagnostic and therapeutic strategy for ASD, making it challenging to find disease biomarkers and medications. However, a clinical study has discovered that the elevation of neuron-specific enolase (NSE) levels could be a potential biomarker for ASD kids, offering new possibilities for diagnosis, evaluation, and intervention.