Respiratory Health

Tonhajzerova, I, Ondrejka, Igor, Mestanik, M, Mikolka, P, Hrtanek, I, Mestanikova, A, Bujnakova, I, Mokra, D, I. Tonhajzerova, I. Ondrejka, M. Mestanik, P. Mikolka, I. Hrtanek, A. Mestanikova, I. Bujnakova, D. Mokra, Tonhajzerova, I., Ondrejka, I., Mestanik, M., Mikolka, P., Hrtanek, I., Mestanikova, A., Bujnakova, I., Mokra, D.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a severe neurodevelopmental disorder in early childhood characterized by impairment in communication and behavior. Recent research is focused on the immune dysregulation as a potential pathomechanism leading to ASD. Thus, we addressed the hypothesis that inflammatory activity might be enhanced in children suffering from ASD. We examined 15 children with ASD (13 boys/2 girls, mean age of 9.3 ± 0.7 years) and 20 age/gender-matched healthy subjects as a control group. All children were medication free and in good health. Hematological parameters in venous blood and plasma levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines - tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), interleukin 1ß (IL-1ß), and interleukin 8 (IL-8) - were assessed in each subject using human ultra-sensitive ELISA kits. In addition, TBARS as a marker of oxidative stress was evaluated. We found that the level of IL-8 was significantly increased in the ASD children, whereas the other markers remained unappreciably changed compared to controls (p = 0.003). In conclusion, the study demonstrates a discrete immune dysfunction in ASD of pro-inflammatory character.