head circumference and blood lead level autistic children

autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder of unknown etiology but with a strong genetic basis.It is characterized by behavioral deficits in the areas of social interaction,deficits in communication and repetitive and/or restrictive behaviorsMultiple studies have reported increase in head circumference in autistic children while other studies reported no differenceExcess or deficiency of natural trace elements has been implicated in the etiology of autism. one of tgese toxic trace elements is lead ;studies have reported shange in blood level of lead in autistic childrenProcedure: our study was conducted on 40 patients diagnosed as autism based on DSM-IV criteria included 24 males and 16 females, their ages ranged from 3 to 11 years compared with 20 age- and sex-matched healthy children 12 males and 8 females.Both groups were subjected to Thorough clinical examination with special emphasis on head circumference and Measurement of lead levels in the bloodResults: revealed that BLL was within normal range in both groups (5.47± 1.07 vs 4.65 ± 0.81) , inspite of this; there was a significant differernce between both groups.There was significant difference between both groups according to head circumference.Conclusion:1- Macrocephaly appears to be a single most consistent physical characteristic of children with autism.2- It appears that inspite of being within normal range; the children with autism have a significant elevation in their levels of lead compared to controls.