Understanding the role of immunological derangements in the pathophysiology of autism

2^nd International Conference on Neuroimmunology & Therapeutics

December 01-02, 2016 Atlanta, USA

Afaf El-Ansary

King Saud University, KSA

Posters & Accepted Abstracts: J Neurol Disord

Abstract :

Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by communication deficits, repetitive behaviors and impairment in language, cognition and socialization. Males are more affected by autism than females, showing a ratio of 4:1. The prevalence of autism has been increased dramatically over the past 30 years, before the 80s, the prevalence was estimated at 1:2,000 children to 1:100-200 in 2009. Most recent record is 1 in 50 children which is currently the most widely used figure. The need to clarify the causes behind the increase of autism prevalence and the underlying pathophysiology has become more urgent since the number of diagnosed cases has risen dramatically in recent years. Autism behavioral symptoms are frequently accompanied by immunological derangements including dysregulated cellular immune response, chronic inflammatory states represented as elevated tumor necrosis factor-�± (TNF-�±) and interferon-�³ (IFN-�³), abnormal pro-inflammatory/antiinflammatory cytokines (e.g., Il6/IL10), elevated chemokines and neuroimmune alterations. Currently, the involvement of the immune pathology in autism remains unclear and better understanding would be beneficial for earlier diagnosis and interventions. This presentation aims to highlight the most current aspects regarding the etiology of autism with particular reference to the involvement of inflammatory events occurring in the periphery and into the brain and how they can affect the early development of the brain and induce autism phenotype. Relationship between immunological derangements, glutamate excitotoxicity, mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress as the most four common mechanisms related to the pathophysiology of this neurodevelopmental disorder will be discussed. Association between neuroimmune alteration and severity of autism measured as social responsive scale (SRS) and childhood autism rating scale (CARS) will be clarified through considering ours and others most recent published work.

Biography :

Email: elansary@KSU.EDU.SA