DNA detection of herpetic viruses in dried blood spots in children with autism spectrum disorders

Introduction & Aims. Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are neurodevelopmental disorders without a definitive etiology in most cases. The aim of this study was to evaluate the possible presence of viruses at birth in children with ASD and in healthy controls. Materials and Methods. The genomes of Cytomegalovirus (CMV), Epstein Barr virus, Herpes simplex virus, Herpesvirus 6-8 and Varicella Zoster virus were investigated in dried blood spots collected at birth from 82 children, 38 with ASD and 44 healthy controls. Extracted DNA was amplified using specific nested-PCR for each herpetic virus. Results. Cytomegalovirus was the only virus found with a prevalence of congenital CMV infection of 5,3% (2/38) in ASD cases and 0% (0/44) in controls. Conclusions. The rate of congenital CMV infection was about 10-fold higher in ASD patients than in the Italian general population and this result underlines the importance of the retrospective diagnosis by using DBS-test. Only investigating a wider ASD population it will be possible to determine the real burden of Cytomegalovirus in the evolution of neurodevelopmental disorders