This single-center American study compared plasma zinc and copper in people with autism and neurotypical controls, then re-measured them after at least eight weeks of zinc picolinate and antioxidant therapy. Plasma copper was higher in the autism group and zinc was slightly but not significantly lower. Zinc rose after therapy, and copper fell significantly only in those with gastrointestinal disease.
Key numbers
- Plasma zinc: controls 84.42 ± 24.18 vs autism 78.36 ± 20.32 (unit printed as mg/dL), P = 0.3541 (Table 1, p. 51).
- Plasma zinc after therapy: 78.36 ± 20.32 to 102.59 ± 28.14 overall (P = 0.0001); 74.30 to 112.27 with GI disease (P = 0.0003) (Table 3, p. 52).
- Plasma copper: controls 90.42 ± 19.55 vs autism 111.50 ± 27.73, P = 0.0133 (Table 1, p. 51).
Methods (brief)
Plasma from consecutive patients and controls at the Pfeiffer Treatment Center was analyzed by ICP-MS within four hours. Patients then received zinc picolinate and antioxidants daily for at least eight weeks; symptoms were rated by a caregiver questionnaire. Groups were compared by t-tests.
Evidence fitness
The paper documents plasma zinc and copper in a clinic sample and a rise in plasma zinc with supplementation. It cannot support causal or treatment-efficacy claims: there was no placebo group, sample counts are inconsistent, and the printed concentration unit is implausible for plasma.
Limitations
The methods give 73 patients (mean age 38 years) and 16 controls while the results give 79 and 18, and the title refers to children. The mg/dL unit is not physiologically plausible; the values match micrograms per deciliter. The author directed research at the treating center.
Related evidence
Update history
No substantive edit history is available in this build. The full commit record is available in git.