Mitochondrial Dysfunction and mTOR in Autism Spectrum Disorders

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are neurodevelopmental diseases that manifest themselves at early ages as insufficient social and communicative skills, repetitive sensory-motor behaviors and restricted interests, and peculiar combinations of these traits. Autism prevalence in wealthy nations is currently rising. Due to increasing numbers of diagnosis, studies on the genetic background of autism have gained momentum recently. Especially the research on mitochondrial dysfunction and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) is important in that it might provide a great contribution to the ASD field for new treatment resources.

Role of Glia Cells in Autism Spectrum Disorders

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder with an increasing frequency, manifested by functional disorders in social communication and social interaction, limited interests, and repetitive behaviors. The etiology of autism spectrum disorder has not yet been fully elucidated and there are many areas that need further study. Increasing studies have shown that disruptions in synaptic functions are critical in the onset of ASD. Glial cells have a role in the regulation of synaptic functions. In ASD, changes are seen in the number of neurons and glia cells in the affected cerebral cortex, and these changes cause dysregulation in synaptic functions and affect behaviors. Studies provide information about the role of glia cells in the pathophysiology of ASD, but more data is needed on the relationship between ASD and glia cells. In this review, the importance of glial cells in the etiopathogenesis of ASD and studies will be discussed

Otizm Spektrum Bozukluğunun Nedenlerine Ait Ebeveyn Algısının Tedavi Tercihine Etkisi

Aim:Due to the complex etiology and the lack of effective treatment for core symptoms, there are different views on the causes of ASD in many cultures. In this study, it was aimed to investigate the opinions, treatment choices, and expectations of families about the causes of ASD.Materials and Methods:Children diagnosed with ASD who applied to the Ondokuz Mayıs University Child Psychiatry Clinic between 2015 and 2019 were retrospectively included in the study. Patients who filled the information in the "preliminary interview forms" filled by the families before the interview for each patient who applied to our clinic were included in the study. The preliminary interview form contains questions about the child's age, gender, previous treatment, why the disease or disorder originated, and the prospect of treatment.Results:The data of 241 children and caregivers were examined in the study group. Comparing the clinical features and family views of the families of male and female patients, it was observed that the caregivers of the female patients had higher clinical global follow-up scores (p=0.022) and marked the "child's self" option (p=0.014). After a two-step clustering analysis, two clusters formed, and the most determining feature for the clusters was "Child-related causes". It was observed that "psychiatric examination", "drug treatment “and "age" were determinative between the two clusters.Conclusion:Opinions of caregivers about the causes of autism, duration of the disease, and previous psychiatric examinations affect the choice of treatment. These findings are essential for understanding the family's treatment choices and helping families and clinicians interested in ASD to guide and make decisions

Evaluation of The Relationship Between Autism Spectrum Disorders and Season of Birth

Objectives:It has been suggested that the birth season, vitamin D deficiency and maternal infections play a role in the pathogenesis of autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Although there are inconsistencies in the available data, studies examining the relationship between ASD and the birth season are limited in our country. In this study, it was aimed to investigate the relationship between ASD and the birth season.Materials and Methods:The study sample consisted of 1,523 cases between the ages of 0-18 who were diagnosed with ASD who applied to the Ondokuz Mayıs University (OMU) Child Psychiatry outpatient clinic between January 2006 and October 2020. The patients were screened retrospectively with the Nucleus® Outpatient Clinic system. Information on the birth date, first application date, application diagnosis, total number of applications, age of diagnosis and gender were obtained from the system. Data were analyzed with SPSS v22.0.Results:A total of 4,001 applications diagnosed with ASD to the OMU Child Psychiatry outpatient clinic between 2006 and 2020 were found to belong to 1,523 individual patients. The mean age at first admission to the outpatient clinic was determined as 72.9 months. The most frequent first application was at 37 months. Of the 1,523 patients who applied in total, 75.3% (n=1,147) were male and 24.7% (n=376) were female. Considering the number of applications by years, the linear increase in the number of applications between 2006 and 2015 draws attention. When the birth seasons were analyzed, it was observed that the autumn births were statistically significantly higher (χ²: 19.763, p=0.001).Conclusion:In our study, a significant relationship was found between ASD and the birth season. In order to compare parturition seasonality, more comprehensive studies are needed to examine other confounding factors such as viral infections, vitamin D level, and maternal metabolic status in larger data sets

Examination of neutrophil, platelet, and monocyte-lymphocyte ratios in adolescents with bipolar disorder-manic episode and depression

WOS: 000504845000007Objective: Neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet/lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and monocyte/lymphocyte ratio (MLR) are practical inflammation parameters. In bipolar disorder (BD) and major depressive disorder (MDD), these parameters were reported higher than in healthy controls (HC). We aim to compare NLR, PLR, MLR in HC and patients with MDD and BB-manic episode. Method: Forty-six patients with MDD and 43 patients with BD hospitalized between 2013 and 2017 and 40 HC were included in the study. White blood cell, neutrophil, lymphocyte, platelet, and monocyte numbers were entered retrospectively from complete blood counts made at the time of admission, and NLR, PLR, and MLR were calculated from these. Results: NLR and PLR were revealed higher in MDD than HC. NLR and neutrophil values were higher in BD than HC, and there was a positive correlation between NLR and hospitalization period of patients with BD. Conclusion: Findings of our study supported the inflammation hypothesis for MDD and BD in adolescents. Larger-scale studies are necessary to confirm these findings