Recent studies show that oxidative stress has an important role in the etiology of autism. In our study, Nrf2, which is the main regulator of cellular antioxidant response, and Keap1 and Gsk-3[beta], which are the main proteins that regulate this pathway, were compared between children with autism and healthy controls. To the best of our…

Biobehavioral frameworks of attachment posit that mother-child dyads engage in physiological synchrony that is uniquely formative for children's neurobiological, social, and emotional development. Much of the work on mother-child physiological synchrony has focused on respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA). However, the strength of the existing…

Several studies have reported conflicting results when assessing associations between stress and repetitive behaviors in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Some factors that may have caused these discrepant results include the monitoring of a single broad category for repetitive behaviors, the heterogeneity of the participants, and…

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a developmental disorder characterised by deficits in social interactions and communication, with stereotypical and repetitive behaviours. Recent evidence suggests that maternal immune dysregulation may predispose offspring to ASD. Independent samples t-tests revealed downregulation of IL-17A concentrations in…

Background: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder, the etiology of which has not been clearly determined yet. There is increasing evidence that synaptic and dendritic changes are involved in the etiology of ASD. The aim of this study is to determine whether serum Thrombospondin-1 and Thrombospondin-2 differ between ASD…

Children should engage in 1 hr/day of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) that results in increased heart rates (HRs) (CDC, 2022). However, precise individualized HR criteria for MVPA are not provided, and it is unclear whether observed behaviors classified as MVPA are associated with elevated HRs indicative of MVPA. The current study…

Metabolic disturbance may be implicated in the pathogenesis of autism. This study aimed to investigate the gut metabolomic profiles of autistic children and to analyze potential interaction between gut metabolites with autistic symptoms and neurodevelopment levels. We involved 120 autistic and 60 neurotypical children. Autistic symptoms and…

The aim of this study was to determine whether serum VEGF, IGF-1, and HIF-1[alpha] levels differed between Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) patients and healthy controls. A total of 40 children with ASD and 40 healthy controls aged 4-12 years were included. Serum levels of VEGF, IGF-1, and HIF-1[alpha] were measured using commercial enzyme-linked…

Sleep problems are prevalent in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and have a range of causes, including circadian rhythm misalignment. However, little is known about sleep in autistic children with co-occurring attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). A cross-sectional descriptive and analytic study was conducted in 87 autistic children and…

Purpose: The biological mechanisms underlying developmental stuttering remain unclear. In a previous investigation, we showed that there is significant spatial correspondence between regional gray matter structural anomalies and the expression of genes linked to energy metabolism. In the current study, we sought to further examine the relationship…

Fetal androgen exposure may be associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We studied 1777 mother-child pairs in the prospective Odense Child Cohort. Prenatal androgen exposure was assessed by maternal 3rd trimester testosterone concentrations, maternal polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), and 3 months offspring anogenital distance. ASD traits…

Objectives: Aminoacidopathies are inborn errors of metabolism (IEMs) that cause intellectual disability in children. Luckily, aminoacidopathies are potentially treatable, if diagnosed earlier in life. The focus of this study was the screening of aminoacidopathies in a cohort of patients suspected for IEMs. Methods: Blood samples from healthy (IQ…

The oxytocin system may be different in autistic people, which could explain some of the deficits in social behavior and cognition associated with autism spectrum disorder. However, studies comparing oxytocin levels in autistic and neurotypical individuals have shown conflicting results and a 2016 meta-analysis on seven studies concluded that…

We examined the relationship between weight status, appetite regulating hormones, and mealtime behaviors among children, (5-12 years old), diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in a cross-sectional study. All (N = 21) completed anthropometry measurements and (n = 18) provided blood samples for hormone analysis. Mealtime behavior, dietary,…

Several studies show altered heart rate variability (HRV) in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), but findings are neither universal nor specific to ASD. We apply a set of linear and nonlinear HRV measures--including phase rectified signal averaging--to segments of resting ECG data collected from school-age children with ASD, age-matched typically…