Plasma cytokine concentrations of children with autism spectrum disorder and neurotypical siblings.

Several studies of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have shown cytokine dysregulation in children with ASD, leading to a consideration of the immune theory of the ASD etiopathogenesis and a debate about cytokines as potential biomarkers of ASD. However, the results of these studies are still inconsistent. Overall, studies comparing the cytokine levels of children with ASD and neurotypical siblings achieved relatively different results than studies with control groups of non-siblings. The studies suggest that the immune profile of siblings of individuals with ASD serving as control is more similar to children with ASD than the profile of non-siblings. However, there are still only a few studies with control groups including neurotypical siblings of children with ASD. The aim of our study was to determine whether the concentration of plasma cytokine levels may differentiate children with ASD from their neurotypical siblings. The sample consisted of 40 children with ASD (mean age 7.11 years, SD 2.9) and 21 neurotypical siblings (mean age 7.38, SD 3.3). Levels of 20 cytokines were included into the statistical analysis. A multiple logistic regression model using multiple corrections showed that an increase in log-transformed plasma G-CSF (granulocyte colony stimulating factor) concentration is associated with an increased risk of the child being diagnosed as an ASD case (OR = 4.35, 95% CI 1.77, 10.73). Although the significantly increased concentration of G-CSF suggests a slightly different activity of the immune system of children with ASD, the overall cytokine profile of their siblings appeared to be very similar.

The Relationship of Steroid Hormones, Genes Related to Testosterone Metabolism and Behavior in Boys With Autism in Slovakia.

OBJECTIVE: Purpose of the study was to identify the relationship among actual plasmatic levels of steroid hormones and behavioral manifestations in boys with autism and to assess the genetic contribution to these manifestations. METHODS: 172 boys with autism under 10 years of age and 135 neurotypical boys attended the study. ADI-R and ADOS-2 were used to evaluate the core symptom severities. Problem behavior was assessed using BPI-01 questionnaire. Levels of testosterone, estradiol, dehydroepiandrosterone, dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate and sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) were measured in plasma of autistic boys. Three SNPs (in ESR1, SHBG, SRD5A2 genes) and one STR in AR gene (number of CAG repeats in first exon) were assessed. Hormonal levels and number of CAG repeats in AR gene were used for correlation analysis with behavioral measures. Genotype and allelic frequencies were compared among autistic and neurotypical boys. RESULTS: We found negative relationship among SHBG levels and restricted, repetitive behaviors (measured by ADOS-2) and positive relationship among actual testosterone levels and frequency of stereotyped behavior (measured by BPI-01). CONCLUSION: Actual levels of SHBG and testosterone are related to severities of restricted and repetitive behaviors in boys with autism. Mechanisms of action of these hormones in brain require further investigation.

Autism spectrum disorder and new perspectives on the reliability of second to fourth digit ratio.

The second to fourth digit ratio (2D:4D) is according to previous studies a likely biomarker for prenatal testosterone exposure and its effect on the human brain. It was found to be linked to autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Recently, 2D:4D raised a lot of questions with regard to its stability and autism-related behaviors. Here, we present a cross-sectional study of 2D:4D in boys (N = 91, mean age 7.63) and adults (N = 36 mean age 22.8) with ASD as well as neurotypical students, 506 participants in total. Digit ratio was assessed by taking measurements from digital scans, compared between groups and correlated with the autism quotient. Significant differences were found in the digit ratio of children and adults. Both girls and boys had 2D:4D ratio lower than women and men, both on the right (p = 0.000 in females, p = 0.000 in males) and left hand (p = 0.018 in females, p = 0.011 in males). No significant differences were found in digit ratios between neurotypical subjects and those with ASD nor was there a relationship with the reported autistic traits, which leads us to question the reliability of 2D:4D and its relation to ASD.

Acute dark chocolate ingestion is beneficial for hemodynamics via enhancement of erythrocyte deformability in healthy humans.

Erythrocyte deformability is an important property of erythrocytes that considerably affects blood flow and hemodynamics. The high content of polyphenols present in dark chocolate has been reported to play a protective role in functionality of erythrocytes. We hypothesized that chocolate might influence erythrocytes not only after repeated chronic intake, but also immediately after its ingestion. Thus, we determined the acute effect of dark chocolate and milk (with lower content of biologically active substances) chocolate intake on erythrocyte deformability. We also focused on selected factors that may affect erythrocyte deformability, specifically nitric oxide production in erythrocytes and total antioxidant capacity of plasma. We determined posttreatment changes in the mentioned parameters 2hours after consumption of chocolate compared with their levels before consumption of chocolate. In contrast to milk chocolate intake, the dark chocolate led to a significantly higher increase in erythrocyte deformability. Nitric oxide production in erythrocytes was not changed after dark chocolate intake, but significantly decreased after milk chocolate. The plasma total antioxidant capacity remained unaffected after ingestion of both chocolates. We conclude that our hypothesis was confirmed. Single ingestion of dark chocolate improved erythrocyte deformability despite unchanged nitric oxide production and antioxidant capacity of plasma. Increased deformability of erythrocytes may considerably improve rheological properties of blood and thus hemodynamics in humans, resulting in better tissue oxygenation.