Some Immunological and Physiological Parameters Levels in Iraq Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Abstract

Some studies suggested that dysfunction of immune and endocrine systems could link with neurodevelopment disorder and immunopathogenesis of ASD. Therefore, the goal of this research is to examine the level of some immunological and physiological indicators in an effort to identify a new biomarker for ASD. In the current study, there were 72 Iraqi kids (both boys and girls), 50 kids with ASD who attended different autism centers in Iraq, and 22 kids without ASD. They were between the ages of 6 and 12. These children’s peripheral venous blood was drawn in order to measure the concentrations of several cytokines, such as (TNF-α and IL-6), cortisol, and WBCs indices and platelets/lymphocytes ratio. The study’s findings revealed: 1) a significantly higher level of TNF- α but not IL-6 in ASD patients when compared to control; 2) a significantly higher level of cortisol in ASD patients compared to controls; and 3) a significantly higher level of lymphocytes and total WBCs but not neutrophils and monocytes. 4) A significant increase in the platelets/lymphocytes ratio. Furthermore, there were no differences in these parameters based on the gender and severity of the autism. As a result, our findings revealed that cytokine level alterations may be crucial in the development of neurological diseases like autism since microglia release large amounts of TNF-α, which plays a significant role in the so-called neuroinflammatory response. An abnormal HPA axis with high or low concentration of cortisol in more than 22% of the ASD was found in our results, which could explain the different reactions of autistic children when exposed to the same situation. So we thought that cytokines, especially TNF-α, and cortisol, may represent a serological marker for autism.