Sleep Problems and 6-Sulfatoxymelatonin as Possible Predictors of Symptom Severity, Adaptive and Maladaptive Behavior in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

In children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), sleep disturbances are a frequent comorbidity with an adverse effect on their behavior and functioning. It was suggested that melatonin deficit is at least partly responsible for the sleep problems. The study aimed to investigate, in a sample of 56 children with ASD aged 2.8-13.3 years, if the sleep problems and melatonin secretion can serve as predictors of adaptive functioning and severity of the ASD core symptoms. We demonstrated that, after adjustment for age, the Sleep score assessed by the Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire predicts the Adaptive behavior composite score only in children younger than 6 years, and the preferred predictive model is for the domain Socialization. The age-adjusted Sleep score predicted Externalizing and Internalizing maladaptive behavior, with a near-zero contribution of age to the relationship between the Internalizing maladaptive behavior and Sleep score. After adjustment for age, the reduced night-time melatonin secretion predicted a higher severity of ASD symptoms in the domain Social affect and the Calibrated Severity Score, but not the sleep problems. Our results emphasize the importance of assessing sleep problems as a modifiable predictor of behavior in children with ASD and support the hypothesis about the role of melatonin in pathophysiology of ASD.

Detection of disease-associated microRNAs - application for autism spectrum disorders.

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) diagnostic procedure still lacks a uniform biological marker. This review gathers the information on microRNAs (miRNAs) specifically as a possible source of biomarkers of ASD. Extracellular vesicles, and their subset of exosomes, are believed to be a tool of cell-to-cell communication, and they are increasingly considered to be carriers of such a marker. The interest in studying miRNAs in extracellular vesicles grows in all fields of study and therefore should not be omitted in the field of neurodevelopmental disorders. The summary of miRNAs associated with brain cells and ASD either studied directly in the tissue or biofluids are gathered in this review. The heterogeneity in findings from different studies points out the fact that unified methods should be established, beginning with the determination of the accurate patient and control groups, through to sample collection, processing, and storage conditions. This review, based on the available literature, proposes the standardized approach to obtain the results that would not be affected by technical factors. Nowadays, the method of high-throughput sequencing seems to be the most optimal to analyze miRNAs. This should be followed by the uniformed bioinformatics procedure to avoid misvalidation. At the end, the proper validation of the obtained results is needed. With such an approach as is described in this review, it would be possible to obtain a reliable biomarker that would characterize the presence of ASD.

The Influence of Food Intake Specificity in Children with Autism on Gut Microbiota.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex of neurodevelopmental conditions with increasing incidence. The microbiota of children with ASD is distinct from neurotypical children, their food habits are also different, and it is known that nutrient intake influences microbiota in a specific way. Thus, this study investigates the food habits of children with ASD and their association with the gut microbiota. Children with ASD had their dietary energy intakes similar to controls, but they more often demonstrated food selectivity, which seemed to result in deficiency of micronutrients such as vitamins K, B6, C, iron, cooper, docosahexaenoic and docosapentanoic acid. Using high-throughput sequencing, a DNA library of intestinal microbiota was performed. Core microbiota was similar in children with and without ASD, but Dichelobacter, Nitriliruptor and Constrictibacter were found to be putative markers of ASD. The changes in gut microbiota that we observed in connection to food selectivity, intake of fats and omega-3 in particular, fermented milk products and animal/plant protein consumption had similar character, independent of diagnosis. However, high fibre intake was connected with a decreased α-diversity only in children with ASD. High carbohydrate and fibre intake influenced ß-diversity, changing the abundance of Bacteroides and other genera, many of them members of the Clostidiaceae. Modulating food habits of ASD children can influence their gut microbiota composition.

Impairment of endothelial function in patients with multiple sclerosis.

OBJECTIVE: Large epidemiological studies suggest higher risk of vascular events in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). Chronic inflammatory response and oxidative stress, key-players in a process of atherogenesis, are also suspected to play a role in pathophysiology of MS. Prospective studies elucidating risk of atherosclerosis in MS patients are currently missing. The aim of the study was to assess endothelial function in patients with MS and in healthy controls. METHODS: We enrolled 46 patients with diagnosis of relapsing-remitting MS and age-matched population of 31 healthy subjects. Endothelial function was assessed using peripheral arterial tonometry and expressed as reperfusion hyperemia index (RHI). RESULTS: RHI in MS population was significantly lower than in controls (1.77 vs 2.30; p=0.001), even though control population seemed to have higher burden of known vascular risk factors (significantly higher portion of male sex and significantly higher body mass index; p ≤ 0.001 for both parameters). The presence of MS was the only significant independent variable associated with the RHI (beta=0.396, p<0.001) in multiple linear regression model. CONCLUSION: Results of our study suggest significant impairment of endothelial function in MS population compared to age matched control population with low burden of vascular risk factors.