Full Length Research Article 

RETRACTED ARTICLE: Sphingomyelin, Plasminogen, and Docosahexaenoic in Sera of Autism Spectrum Disorder Children

Ali Fadheel Hamoud¹, Narjis Hadi Al-Saadi²*

Adv. life sci., vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 226-232, February 2024
*^- Corresponding Author: Narjis Hadi Al-Saadi (narjis.h@uokerbala.edu.iq)
Authors' Affiliations

Abstract
Introduction
Methods
Results
Discussion
References 

Abstract

Background: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD), more commonly referred to as autism, is a neurodevelopmental disorder that is pervasive, highly heritable, and extremely variable. It is characterized by underlying cognitive features that frequently co-occur with other conditions. Since ASD is a multifactor disease, genetics, and environmental factors can play crucial roles in its progression. However, very few biological parameters can be used as a prediction for ASD which can help in diagnosis and starting the treatment early. Given the rapidly increasing prevalence of ASD, there is an urgent need to identify related diagnostic biomarkers.  This study aims to investigate the association between some blood parameters that can be used to predict ASD and classify the severity, which were the main aims of the current inquiry.

Method: A case-control study was conducted on children with ASD, 37 Kids with ASD participated in the current investigation and 46 kids as the control group, their ages were between 3-12 years. Children with ASD were divided into two subgroups depending on the severity of ASD using the Gilliam scale. Competitive and sandwich ELISA were used to measure the biochemical markers of this study.

Result: After blood samples were collected three parameters were measured (sphingomyelin, plasminogen, and docosahexaenoic acid). In medium ASD cases, the results display that there is a significant increase in all parameters (sphingomyelin, plasminogen, and docosahexaenoic acid) respectively [(OR:4.691, CI:1.289~17.068, p=0.014), (OR:7.5, CI:1.844~30.509, p=0.001), (OR:5.156, CI:1.412~18.831, p=0.001)]. On other hand, in under medium cases of ASD, there is a significant decrease in Sphingomyelin levels (OR:0.97, CI:0.356~0.836, p=0.001), plasminogen (OR: 0.5, CI: 0.169~0.560, p=0.05), and docosahexaenoic (OR: 0.22, CI: 0.63~1.771, p=0.003) when compared with the control group.

Conclusion: In sum, our results showed that these noninvasive parameters can be used as biomarkers for ASD diagnosis and disease propagation. More research needs to be done to cover other pathophysiology parameters with genetics analysis for ASD that can be used as prediction biomarkers.

Keywords: Autism spectrum disorder; Sphingomyelin; Plasminogen; Docosahexaenoic acid 

Retraction Note

10 Nov 2025: The Editor-in-Chief has approved retraction of this article on the following grounds.

Serious flaws have been detected/reported in your manuscript, which have been confirmed through a post-publication quality audit. These issues are significant enough to call into question the validity and reliability of the published findings.

The paper presents data for two different, unexplained sample sizes.

• Abstract and Methods: The study's sample size is explicitly stated as 37 children with ASD. This is corroborated by the results tables (Table 2 and 3), which show N=20 (Medium) + N=17 (Under Medium) = 37.
• Table 1 (Demographics): The demographic data in Table 1 is for a different sample. The "ASD severity level" row lists N=15 (Medium) + N=18 (Under medium), which sums to 33.

The paper's demographic data does not match its results data. The paper's core finding is that all three biomarkers (Sphingomyelin, Plasminogen, and DHA) are significantly increased in the "Medium" ASD group but significantly decreased in the "Under medium" ASD group, relative to the same control group . A mechanism by which these markers would completely reverse their behavior based on severity is biologically extraordinary and not credibly explained, especially given the fatal contradictions in the text.

The authors do not agree to this retraction.