Prenatal testosterone may play autism role: study

By Michael Kahn

YORK (Reuters) - Children exposed to high levels of testosterone in the womb showed more autism-related traits later in life, according to findings that suggest the male hormone may play a key role in the complex brain disorder.

The results support a hypothesis that higher levels of testosterone may contribute to autism and reinforce findings from tests on animals, said Simon Baron-Cohen, director of the Autism Research Centre at Britain's Cambridge University, who worked on the study.

He called the findings of the ongoing research promising but cautioned that they did not show a direct link between autism and testosterone and said other factors could be involved. None of the 235 children in the study had autism.

"It is a significant correlation and remains significant after you control for other factors," he said on Tuesday at a meeting sponsored by the British Association for the Advancement of Science.

What is causing the spike in testosterone was not clear, though Baron-Cohen said environmental factors could be at play.

Autism symptoms range from mild awkwardness seen in Asperger's syndrome, to severe disability and mental retardation. A recent survey found that 1 in every 150 U.S. children has autism or an autism spectrum disorder, a less severe condition related to autism, such as Asperger's.

The rate is slightly lower in Britain.

No one knows what causes autism, a complex developmental disorder that includes problems with social interaction and communication.