الفهرس 
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Abstract
Autism is one of the developmental disorders characterized by impairments in social interaction and communication, repetitive behavior. The pathogenesis include calcium signaling, neural migration and connectivity and other theories. Its etiology may be due to genetic causes or environmental causes which include pre natal, peri natal and postnatal causes.
Repetitive mercury exposure during pregnancy (through thimerosal and dental amalgam), and after birth, through thimerosal containing vaccinations in genetically susceptible individuals may be a potential pathogenetic factor in autism. toxicants, like lead, and the hormonal situation might have synergistic effects with mercury.
This study conducted to measure level of urinary mercury in base samples and following a three day provocation with an oral chelating agent, DMSA in autistic children and correlate these levels with severity of the disease.
It was conducted in the Psychiatry Clinic Children’s Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University. It included 20 patients with AD (15 males and 5 females) their ages ranged between 4-11 years (mean age 6.62.,SD ± 1.75) and 20 age and sex properly matched healthy cases as controls. all studied cases were subjected to full history taking, clinical examination, psychiatric evalution (DSM-IV criteria, IQ assessment and CARS) and urinary mercury level was measured in base urinary samples and post provocation samples after DMSA administration.
The results revealed that there was no significant difference in mercury level in autistic children in both base and postprovocation samples.
There was no significant difference in the urine mercury level in AD patients in correlation with the control group, there was no significant correlation in mercury level with IQ and CARS. Regarding mercury level, there was no significant difference in correlation with the patients age.
There was no significant difference in mercury level with onset of symptoms and clinical manifestation. There was no significant increase in mercury level in patients with history of dental amulgum during pregnancy.
There was no significant difference between Autistic children according to history of exposure to lead poisoning and exposure to excessive oral antibiotics as regarding mercury level, there was no significant difference between Autistic children according to history abnormalities in mental development, motor development, sphincteric control and EEG abnormalities as regarding mercury level.