CYP19A1 and autism spectrum disorder 1: Single nucleotide polymorphisms within CYP19A1 are associated with autistic traits and Asperger syndrome.78 In addition, a significant decrease in aromatase immunoreactivity was detected in a quantitative immunofluorescence analysis on postmortem samples from the frontal cortex (area 9 of Brodmann) of 12 autistic individuals, including males and females.79 Another study has reported a 38% reduction in CYP19A1 mRNA levels in the middle frontal gyrus of 13 male ASD patients relative to controls, together with a 35% decrease in ERβ mRNA expression in the same region of the frontal cortex.