Abstract
Higher levels of homovanillic acid (HVA) and 3-methoxy-4- hydroxyphenylglycol (MHPG) were observed in urines of 12 premature infants than in older children. An examination of the influence of age, sex, size, and head circumference revealed that the smaller the infants, the higher the HVA and MHPG values. Recently several investigators have reported an increased titer of urinary HVA in autistic children. It has been hypothesized that the increased levels of catecholamine metabolites (notably HVA and MHPG) could reflect accelerated catecholamine turnover. The elevated urinary HVA titers in infants as well as in autistic children may be due to an immaturity of the dopaminergic receptors.
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