Urine biomarker test for autism on the horizon? - FierceBiomarkers

Some studies have shown that children with autism spectrum disorder have increased levels of porphyrins in their urine, resulting with issues with its metabolism. In a collaboration between Battelle Centers for Public Health Research and Evaluation and the School of Public Health, the team of researchers looked at the levels of porphyrins in the urine of children with autism spectrum disorder to see if this could be used as a biomarker. The results showed that porphyrins levels could pick out up to a third of the children with autism, without selecting any of the "neurotypical" children.