Grant: Travel Awards - Institute Community Support

According to recent analyses, 1 in 68 children in the U.S. are diagnosed with autism by age 8, and the cost to families for treatment, therapy, and care for someone diagnosed with autism is on average $17,000 per year. Little is known about its cause, but studies suggest that it may have to do with the functioning of mitochondria - structures within cells that are used to generate energy. Maternal infections during pregnancy may also increase the risk of autism. Doctors at a Canadian pediatric HIV clinic recently observed an unusually high rate of autism diagnoses (nearly 4 times higher than normal) among children born to HIV+ mothers. Although these children are not HIV+ themselves, they were exposed during pregnancy and breastfeeding to their mothers' HIV and to HIV treatment drugs. Both have well-documented effects on mitochondria and the specialized DNA they contain. This led us to investigate how in utero HIV exposure in children might be linked to autism through damage to mitochondrial DNA. Our study will examine four groups of children: those born to HIV+ or HIV- mothers, and who either have autism or do not. We will measure the quantity and quality of mitochondrial DNA taken from the blood of these children and compare the results between groups. All the children in this study have either been enrolled in the CIHR-funded Children & Women AntiRetrovirals & Mechanisms of Aging (CARMA) cohort, or are taking part in the BC Autism Spectrum Interdisciplinary Research (ASPIRE) program. This study has great potential to advance our knowledge about the possible link between mitochondrial DNA damage, autism, and HIV or its treatment. It could also be relevant to other brain diseases such as Huntington's, Alzheimer's, and Parkinson's that are also linked to mitochondrial damage. It could also advance our knowledge about the safest way to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission and improve the health of the 3 million children born each year to HIV+ mothers.