Autism Metabolome Project and Clinical Study

Stemina Biomarker Discovery received support from the NLM Family Foundation for a clinical study of biomarkers in the blood of children with autism spectrum disorders. The research has the potential to enable earlier diagnosis and individualized treatment of children with ASD from a blood sample. Using its proprietary metabolomics platform, Stemina has studied nearly 600 banked blood samples from patients with ASD as compared to typically developing children. Using blood samples, Stemina was able to distinguish patients with autism from typically developing children with 81 percent accuracy. Stemina will enroll patients under conditions ideal for studying their innate metabolism. This will increase understanding of the individual metabolism of children with ASD. What is exciting about the data that Stemina is generating is that they are beginning to identify metabolic subtypes in comparing one child with ASD to another. This has the potential to revolutionize the way children are diagnosed and treated based on the individual’s metabolism.