Autism and mitochondrial disease

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) as defined by the revised Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: DSM IVTR criteria (American Psychiatric Association [2000] Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Publishing) as impairment before the age of 3 in language development and socialization with the development of repetitive behaviors, appears to be increased in incidence and prevalence. Similarly, mitochondrial disorders are increasingly recognized. Although overlap between these disorders is to be expected, accumulating clinical, genetic, and biochemical evidence suggests that mitochondrial dysfunction in ASD is more commonly seen than expected. Some patients with ASD phenotypes clearly have genetic-based primary mitochondrial disease. This review will examine the data linking autism and mitochondria.