Prevalence of Congenital Cytomegalovirus Infection Assessed Through Viral Genome Detection in Dried Blood Spots in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders.

Abstract

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are neurodevelopmental disorders without a definitive etiology in most cases. Environmental factors, such as viral infections, have been linked with anomalies in brain growth, neuronal development, and functional connectivity. Congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection has been associated with the onset of ASD in several case reports. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of congenital CMV infection in children with ASD and in healthy controls. The CMV genome was tested by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) on dried blood spots collected at birth from 82 children (38 with ASD and 44 controls). The prevalence of congenital CMV infection was 5.3% (2/38) in cases and 0% (0/44) in controls (p=0.212). The infection rate was about 10-fold higher in patients with ASD than in the general Italian population at birth. For this reason, detection of CMV-DNA on dried blood spots could be considered in the work-up that is usually performed at ASD diagnosis to rule-out a secondary form. Given the potential prevention and treatment of CMV infection, this study could have intriguing consequences, at least for a group of patients with ASD.