Research view
Title: | A study of serum interleukin-12 in a sample of autistic children in Egypt |
Author: | Soha Ibrahim, Tarek El-Waleely, Nermine Zakaria, Rania Ismail |
Abstract: |
Introduction
Autistic spectrum disorders (ASDs) prevalence varies widely by sex and the racial/ethnic group.
The male-to-female ratio ranged from 3 to 4 : 1. Some consider ASD to be an autoimmune
disorder, in which the autoimmune response to the developing brain myelin may impair
anatomical development of neural pathways in autistic children; this affects the speed of
impulse transmission. Interleukin-12 (IL-12) is an interleukin that is naturally produced by
dendritic cells and macrophages in response to antigenic stimulation; it plays an important
role in the activities of natural killer cells and T lymphocytes involved in the immune system.
Aim of the work
The present study was conducted to compare the level of serum IL-12 between children with
autistic disorder (AD) and healthy control children, and also to study the relation of serum
IL-12 with the severity of autistic symptoms.
Participants and methods
A cross-sectional study was conducted on two groups; group I included 20 patients with AD
and group II included 20 normal children matched for age and sex, recruited from the Child and
Adolescent Outpatients Clinic at Al Hadra University Hospital. All children were subjected to a
complete psychiatric history, physical and neurological examination, psychometric assessment
by Childhood Autistic Rating Scale, and estimation of serum IL-12 using the enzyme-linked
immunosorbent assay method.
Results
The mean serum level of IL-12 was signifi cantly higher in AD children than in controls and was
related to a younger age, male sex, a positive family history and ante/natal/postnatal history,
nondevelopment of spoken language, the presence of comorbidities, and higher Childhood
Autistic Rating Scale mean scores.
Conclusion
The study pointed out an immunological impairment in the form of an elevated serum level of
IL-12 in autistic children and its positive relation to autistic symptom severity. This supports
the immunological etiology of ASD.
Keywor ds :
autistic disorder, autoimmunity, Childhood Autistic Rating Scale, serum interleukin-12
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Journal: | Egyptian Journal of Psychiatry 2015, 36:81–87 |
Text: | |
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