According to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as of July 11, 2016, the reported average incidence of children diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) was 1 in 68 (1.46%) among 8-year-old children born in 2004 and living within the 11 monitoring sites' surveillance areas in the United States of America (USA) in 2012. ASD is a multifaceted neurodevelopmental disorder that is also considered a hidden disability, as, for the most part; there are no apparent morphological differences between children with ASD and typically developing children. ASD is diagnosed based upon a triad of features including impairment in socialization, impairment in language, and repetitive and stereotypic behaviors. The increasing incidence of ASD in the pediatric population and the lack of successful curative therapies make ASD one of the most challenging disorders for medicine. ASD neurobiology is thought to be associated with oxidative stress, as shown by increased levels of reactive oxygen species and increased lipid peroxidation, as well as an increase in other indicators of oxidative stress. Children with ASD diagnosis are considered more vulnerable to oxidative stress because of their imbalance in intracellular and extracellular glutathione levels and decreased glutathione reserve capacity. Several studies have suggested that the redox imbalance and oxidative stress are integral parts of ASD pathophysiology. As such, early assessment and treatment of antioxidant status may result in a better prognosis as it could decrease the oxidative stress in the brain before it can induce more irreversible brain damage. In this review, many aspects of the role of oxidative stress in ASD are discussed, taking into account that the process of oxidative stress may be a target for therapeutic interventions.

CONEM Egypt Child Brain Research Group National Research Center Giza Egypt

CONEM Metallomics Nanomedicine Research Group Brno Czech Republic

CONEM Poland Chemistry and Nutrition Research Group Lodz University of Technology Lodz Poland

CONEM Scientific Secretary Verona Italy

CONEM Upper Egypt Pediatric Research Group Assiut University Assiut Egypt

Council for Nutritional and Environmental Medicine Toften 24 8610 Mo i Rana Norway

Departamento de Zoología Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Oceanográficas Universidad de Concepción Concepción Chile

Department of Community Health Nursing Faculty of Nursing Assiut University Assiut Egypt

Department of Community Health Nursing Sabia University College Jazan University Jizan Saudi Arabia

Department of Neurological and Movement Sciences University of Verona Verona Italy

Department of Pediatrics Faculty of Medicine Assiut University Assiut Egypt

Faculty of Pharmacy Department of Human Pharmacology and Toxicology University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences Brno Brno Czech Republic

Federal Research Centre of Biological Systems and Agro technologies of the Russian Academy of Sciences Orenburg Russia

IM Sechenov 1st Moscow State Medical University Moscow Russia

Institute of Clinical Chemistry and Biochemistry Ljubljana University Medical Centre Ljubljana Slovenia

Institute of General and Ecological Chemistry Department of Chemistry Technical University of Lodz Lodz Poland

Medical Biochemistry Department National Research Centre Giza Egypt

Peoples' Friendship University of Russia Moscow Russia

Razi Vaccine and Serum Research Institute Agricultural Research Education and Extension Organization Karaj Iran

Research on Children with Special Needs Department National Research Centre Giza Egypt

Taipei Medical University Taipei Taiwan

Yaroslavl State University Yaroslavl Russia

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A Novel UHPLC-MS Method Targeting Urinary Metabolomic Markers for Autism Spectrum Disorder