TITLE:
Peptides and Exorphins in the Autism Spectrum
AUTHORS:
Dag Tveiten, Adrian Finvold, Marthe Andersson, Karl L. Reichelt
KEYWORDS:
Autism, Behavior, Diet, Exorphins, Mass-Spectrometry, Peptides
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Psychiatry,
Vol.4 No.3,
July
24,
2014
ABSTRACT: Problem: Some researchers
have not found the opioids in urine of autistic children. We have therefore
looked at this problem again. Method: Mass spectrometry and fragmentation mass spectrometry
(MS/MS) have been carried out on peaks from the HPLC that show co-chromatography
with synthetic standards and peaks that are shared by different autistic
children. Results: In quickly frozen urine we find the presence of exorphins, and
can also demonstrate a rather fast break down at room temperature of these
peptides in urine. Conclusion: Exorphins are present in urine in autistic
children, but must be protected against break down and aggregation by fast
freezing or acetic acid and adjusting declustering potential and collision
potential during mass-spectroscopy. Specific antibody increases and the effect
of removing precursor proteins from the diet reinforce this view.