Erythrocyte Shape Abnormalities, Membrane Oxidative Damage, and β-Actin Alterations: An Unrecognized Triad in Classical Autism

Table 1

Routine RBC variables in subjects with classical autism and nonautistic neurodevelopmental disorders (NA-NDDs) versus healthy controls.

RBC variables	Healthy controls	NA-NDDs	Classical autism	𝑃 value; (ANOVA)
Hb (g/dL)	14.5 ± 0.9	13.6 ± 1.0*	14.2 ± 1.6	0.001
MCV (fL)	85.1 ± 6.6	83.3 ± 4.4*	86.1 ± 4.0	0.004
MCH (pg/cell)	28.8 ± 2.4	27.9 ± 1.6	28.6 ± 1.9	0.362
MCHC (g/dL)	33.9 ± 1.0	33.6 ± 0.9	33.2 ± 0.9	0.490
RDW (%)	13.4 ± 1.5	14.0 ± 2.1	13.1 ± 0.7	0.188

Data are expressed as means ± SD. *𝑃 value < 0.05 (post hoc analysis). Bold character indicates statistically significant differences.
Hb: hemoglobin; MCV: mean corpuscular volume; MCH: mean corpuscular hemoglobin; MCHC: mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration; RDW: red cell distribution width.