Comparative evaluation of salivary zinc concentration in autistic and healthy children in mixed dentition age group-pilot study.

Effect of Zinc Status on Salivary Zinc Concentrations in the Rat

This article focuses on the impact of intentionality on goal directed locomotion in healthy and autistic children. Closely linked with emotions and motivation, it is directly connected with movement planning. Is planning only preserved when the goal of the action appears motivating for healthy and autistic children? Is movement programming similar for autistic and healthy children, and does it vary according to the emotional valence of the object? Moving in a straight line, twenty autistic and healthy children had to retrieve a positive or aversive emotional valence object. The results suggest planning and programming are preserved in an emotionally positive situation. However, in an aversive situation, autistic children appear to have a deficit in terms of planning and sometimes programming.

This study was aimed to investigated the relationship between caries experience and Zinc concentration in salivary supernatant. Materials and methods: This study was done on Forty healthy-looking dental students in Tikrit University, with age range between 19-24 years, stimulated mixed saliva were collected from them and the supernatant part of it were subjected to analysis by Atomic Spectrophotometer in analytical center of chemical engineering college/ Tikrit University, to estimate Zinc concentration. Assessment of caries prevalence was carried out by clinical examination using DMFT and DMFS indices. Zinc concentration and dental caries experience took place in relation to gender.The result showed that the Zinc level in saliva of caries experience group was 76.6±20.6 ng/ml, while that of caries free group was 72.6±32.3 ng/ml. The total mean of saliva Zinc concentration in saliva of males in both gr oups was higher than females.Saliva zinc concentrati on was higher in individuals with caries free when compared with individuals having caries experience. The severity of dental ca ries was associated with the increasing salivary zinc concentrat ion. There was significant differences between the salivary zinc concentration in both sexes. Males in both groups having higher salivary zinc concentration than that in females.

Background:This study aimed to evaluate and compare salivary zinc levels in individuals diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis and healthy controls.Materials and Methods:A total of 20 participants were included in the study after obtaining informed consent. The participants were divided into two equal groups. Group 1 consisted of 10 healthy individuals who served as controls, while Group 2 included 10 individuals diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. Saliva samples were collected from all participants, and the zinc levels were measured and analyzed to determine any differences between the two groups.Results:The average salivary zinc level in the rheumatoid arthritis group (Group 2) was 83.52 ± 5.9 μg/dL. In comparison, the control group (Group 1) showed a lower mean level of 69.56 ± 11.2 μg/dL. This indicates a noticeable difference in zinc concentrations between the two groups.Conclusion:Based on the findings, individuals with rheumatoid arthritis exhibited higher salivary zinc levels compared to healthy controls. This suggests that salivary zinc concentration may be altered in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and could potentially serve as a marker for disease activity or metabolic changes associated with the condition.

Background: Dermatoglyphics is the scientific study of the typical ridges found on human fingers, palm of the hands, toes and soles of the feet. There may be variation of fingerprints between autistic and healthy children. Objective: The purpose of the study was to assess and compare the fingerprint patterns between autistic and healthy children. Methodology: It was a cross sectional type of comparative study conducted under the guidance of Anatomy department of Rajshahi Medical College for a period of 1 year from January 2023 to December 2023. This study was performed on 220 children between the age of 05-15 years group, among them 110 were autistic and 110 healthy children.. Fingerprints were taken by ink and pad method of Cummins.. Result: Distribution of fingerprint pattern in right hand of the autistic children showed that loop pattern was 63.6%, whorl was 24.9% and arch was 11.1% and in case of healthy loop was 74% whorl was 19.1% and arch was 6.7%. Fingerprint pattern of left hand of autistic children revealed that the loop was 66.4%, whorl was 22.4% and arch was 10.7% and in healthy children loop was 70.4%, whorl was 21.4% and arch was 7.8 %. The pattern differences between autistic and healthy children were highly significant (p < 0.001) .The mean ATD angle was 39.23º ± 2.5 in autistic children and was 43.23° ± 4.5° in healthy. The ATD angle was significantly increased in healthy children (p < 0.001 for each group). Conclusion: The present study stated that the fingerprint pattern of autistic children was different from the healthy children. So, it might be helpful for the diagnosis of neurodevelopmental diseases. EWMCJ Vol. 13, No. 2, July 2025: 137-142

Background Some autistic children may have an imbalance of the T-helper (Th)1/Th2 lymphocytes toward Th2. Th2 cells are responsible for the allergic response and the production of antibodies. Aim We were motivated to investigate the frequency of the brain specific antibodies anti- myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein and anti-myelin associated glycoprotein (anti-MoG) and systemic antibodies Anti-Nuclear Antibody (ANA) in the serum of a group of Egyptian autistic children. Patients and Methods This pilot case-control study was conducted at the Department of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University over a period of 6 months, from May 2022 to November 2022. Twenty five autistic children aged 4 to 16 years and twenty five age- and sex-matched healthy children were included after excluding children with any chronic, allergic or autoimmune disease. Diagnosis of autism was settled according to 5th edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). Serum levels of brain specific antibodies (anti-MoG) and systemic antibodies (ANA) were assessed for the patients and healthy children using Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique. Results Male to female ratio was 3.17:1. Family history of Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) was positive in 2 patients. True seizures were detected in 3/25 (12%) of the studied children. Mild ASD was found among 64% and severe illness was detected among the other 36% of the studied patients using Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS). According to anti-ANA 23 healthy control children had negative ANA and the other two had positive ANA. However 23 autistic children had negative ANA and two had borderline level. Anti-ANA not detected among autistic children. According to Anti-MOG 25 healthy control children had negative anti-MOG. However 24 autistic children had negative anti-MOG and one had positive anti- MOG. P-Value of anti-MOG was 1.00 and P-Value of anti-ANA was 0.135. Conclusion Specific brain antibodies, anti-MOG, and systemic antibodies, ANA were not detected in higher levels among autistic children compared to healthy control. The study was limited by the small sample size. ASD patients and healthy children showed comparable serum levels of ANA. One autistic child had positive anti-MOG. Compared to healthy control group, the difference of results of brain antibodies was statistically non-significant.

Background: Prevalence of autism is increasing and growing as an important public health problem. Prevention of autism is still a complicated issue. Thus, the management and rehabilitation of autistic children socially could be the main option. For which the role of socio-economic factors of the autistic children needs to be considered.Methods: This was a cross-sectional comparative study conducted among the autistic and non-autistic children to compare their socioeconomic characteristics. A total of 90 autistic children from two specialized schools and age-matched 180 non-autistic children from nearby schools were included in this study.Results: Overall the mean age of the children was 8.01±2.974 years. More than fourth-fifths (84.4%) of the autistic children were male. In comparison to non-autistic children, significantly (p<0.05) autistic children had small family size (4.79) and higher family income (Taka=34588). Higher education of both father and mother was also found to be significantly associated with autistic children. However, logistic regression analysis revealed that post-graduate education of the father had the strongest (6.4 times) ability to predict the occurrence of autism. The mean age of the mother at birth of autistic children was significantly higher (31.16 years) and logistic regression analysis revealed that higher age of the mother at birth had 1.3 times ability to predict the occurrence of autism. Moreover, the analysis revealed that mothers who were housewife 2.3 times more likely to predict the occurrence of autism.Conclusions: The study revealed that some socio-economic factors were significantly related to autistic children compared to those of non-autistic children.

Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder that changes the normal brain function. Several studies have reported that the patterns of brain connectivity in autistic and healthy individuals are different. In this paper the effective connectivities of autistic and healthy children were measured through Granger Causality and then applied as discriminant features to separate the two groups. To estimate the connectivity, EEG signals of six autistic children and 12 healthy ones (7-10 years old) were recorded in different emotional states (eyes- closed, eyes-open, watching happy, sad and neutral faces). Using the Granger based connectivity features and SVM classifier, the recognition rates in states of eyes-closed, eyes-open, happy, sad and neutral, were obtained 87.6%, 89.4%, 86%, 91.9%, and 83.1%, respectively. Discrimination of autistic and healthy children in different emotional states, is improved using Granger causality-based connectivity features. This is due to consideration of temporal changes of all channels in measuring connectivity between two particular channels. This improvement is more evident in the sad emotional state.

Increased oxidative stress has been reported in autistic patients besides, evidence linking oxidative stress to enhancement of advanced glycation and lipoxidation end products (AGEs and ALEs) and their precursors. This study aimed to compare the plasma levels of the AGEs and precursors of ALEs in autistic and healthy children and to evaluate their relationship with autism comorbidities. In this descriptive study, 54 children, 36 autistic and 18 healthy participated. Plasma levels of AGEs and precursors of ALEs were measured by ELISA method. Severity of autism and Gastrointestinal (GI) disorders were measured by GARSII questionnaire and QPGS-ROME III questionnaire, respectively. Plasma levels of AGEs and precursors of ALEs in autistic children were comparable with healthy children. Plasma levels of AGEs and precursor of ALEs were correlated with physical activity and GI disorders in autistic children. A strong association was also found between AGEs and precursors of ALEs. The results indicate that AGEs and ALEs have a strong correlation together but the AGEs and precursor of ALEs in autistic children are not different from healthy children.

Background: Currently assessment of autistic behavior is done based on learning disabilities, personal observation of behavioral patterns and standard autistic scales. Electrophotonic imaging (EPI) instrument is used to assess health status based on bio-energy field of various organ and organ system of human body. And can be useful to determine the early diagnosis of autistic symptoms and degree of improvement for any therapeutic intervention given to these autistic children on a regular basis. This study aimed to investigate the differences of EPI parameters of autistic children and healthy children of the same age group.Methods: This study was carried out by taking the EPI images of 33 autistic and 36 healthy children of age group 4 to 14 years from an autistic center and nearby school in Bangalore. The statistical analysis on acquired data were done using IBM SPSS Version 20.0.Results: The variables activation coefficient, integral area, sacrum, hypothalamus, thyroid gland, pancreas and coronary vessels showed a significant statistical difference in their mean value for autistic and healthy children (p<0.05).Conclusions: The EPI parameters for autistic and healthy children open up the possibility of using EPI based instrument for early diagnosis. Deeper analysis of the differing parameters gave us more insight into the type of intervention to be selected for improving the health of autistic children.

Evaluation of DNA repair efficiency in autistic children by molecular cytogenetic analysis and transcriptome profiling

An association between autism and early life exposure to mercury is a hotly debated issue. In this study, 91 autistic Polish children, male and female, 3-4 and 7-9 years old, were compared to 75 age- and sex-matched healthy children with respect to: demographic, perinatal, clinical and developmental measures, parental age, birth order, morphometric measures, vaccination history, and hair mercury content. In demographic and perinatal measures there were no consistent differences between the autistic and control groups. Autistic children had a significantly greater prevalence of adverse reactions after vaccinations and abnormal development than controls. Between 45 and 80% of autistic children experienced developmental regress. Autistic children significantly differed from healthy peers in the concentrations of mercury in hair: younger autistics had lower levels, while older - higher levels than their respective controls. The results suggest that autistic children differ from healthy children in metabolism of mercury, which seems to change with age.

There have been case reports of taste disturbance for the angiotensin II receptor blockers losartan and valsartan, but not for candesartan. This study was undertaken to examine whether candesartan causes taste disturbance. Candesartan cilexetil (4 mg day(-1)) or vehicle was given to healthy volunteers (n = 8) for 7 days in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over design with a 2-week washout period. Clinical gustometry using the filter-paper disc test and electrogustometry were sequentially performed before and at the end of each trial. Serum and salivary zinc concentrations were also measured. Detection thresholds of four basic tastes (sweet, salty, sour and bitter) determined by the paper disc test were significantly (P < 0.05 in all tests) worsened (i.e. score of test increased) after repeated dosing of the drug, although the subjects did not notice such changes. The mean +/- SEM (and 95% CI) scores of the four tastes at just before the seventh dosing of candesartan or vehicle was 3.38 +/- 0.32 (3.02, 3.74) and 2.63 +/- 0.18 (2.18, 3.08) for sweetness, 3.63 +/- 0.38 (4.49, 2.77) and 2.63 +/- 0.26 (3.27, 1.98) for salt, 4.01 +/- 0.42 (3.04, 4.98) and 2.61 +/- 0.32 (3.35, 1.87) for sourness, 4.01 +/- 0.38 (3.22, 4.80) and 2.99 +/- 0.33 (2.24, 3.74) for bitterness, for candesartan and placebo, respectively. Electrogustometry confirmed the candesartan-related taste disturbance. Serum and salivary zinc concentrations were not influenced by candesartan. These data suggest that candesartan subclinically reduces taste sensitivity after repeated dosing in healthy subjects. Because similar events are reported for losartan and valsartan in case reports, this adverse effect might be a class effect of angiotensin-II receptor blockers (ARBs).

Negative symptoms are a strong predictor of poor functional outcome in people with schizophrenia. Unfortunately there are few effective interventions for either negative symptoms or functional outcome, despite the identification of potential mechanisms. Recent research, however, has elucidated a new potential mechanism for negative symptoms and poor functional outcome: defeatist performance beliefs (DPB), or negative thoughts about one's ability to successfully perform goal-directed behavior that can prevent behavior initiation and engagement. We conducted 2 meta-analyses examining the relationship between DPB and both negative symptoms (n = 10 studies) and functional outcome (n = 8 studies) in people with schizophrenia. We found a small effect size for the relationship between DPB and negative symptoms, regardless of how negative symptoms were measured. We also found a small effect size for the relationship between DPB and functional outcome, which was significantly moderated by the method of assessing DPB and moderated by the sex composition of the study at a trend level. These findings highlight the potential of targeting DPB in psychosocial interventions for both negative symptoms and functional outcome.

Purpose Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental condition influenced by genetic and environmental factors. This study aims to investigate heavy metal concentrations and melatonin levels in autistic children compared to neurotypical children in Mizoram, a tribal region of Northeast India with unique environmental exposures. Design/methodology/approach First-morning urine and timed (09:00–10:00 p.m.) saliva samples were collected from 38 autistic and 26 children (aged 3–13 years). Metal concentrations (iron, lead, aluminum, manganese, etc.) were quantified via microwave plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy and melatonin via enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Blinded analyses used Mann–Whitney U tests (metals) and independent t-tests (melatonin). Findings Autistic children had significantly higher urinary aluminum (1.80 µg/L, p = 0.041) and lower iron, lead and manganese (p < 0.05). Melatonin levels did not differ between autistic and neurotypical children (16.88 vs 22.18 ng/mL, p = 0.41). Research limitations/implications Small sample size and cross-sectional design limit the causal inferences of this study. Replication in larger cohorts is needed to ascertain the role of aluminum and the potential sources of environmental and dietary exposures and their temporal relationship with ASD features. Practical implications Results suggest monitoring aluminum exposure in autistic populations, particularly in regions with potential environmental contamination. To reduce aluminum exposure risks in autistic children, clinics could prioritize testing for those with sleep or gastrointestinal issues. Public awareness campaigns should promote safer cookware alternatives, like clay or stainless steel, and regulate processed food sources. In addition, addressing iron deficiency through fortified rice or supplements could help mitigate nutritional vulnerabilities. Social implications This research underscores the importance of environmental health policies in supporting the well-being of autistic individuals, especially in communities with elevated exposure risks. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to document metal-level differences in autistic individuals from a unique ethnic Mizo tribal population providing actionable data for regional public health strategies.